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Do Amish and Mennonite girls get to pick their husbands?

 I grew up in a plain hybrid Amish/Mennonite community in Michigan that was part of a larger church in Pennsylvania called Charity Christian Fellowship. People did not date in these plain religious communities. Instead, they did something called courtship or courting.   My first personal interaction with this process was when my favorite big brother decided to marry when I was seven years old. The first thing he did was go to our Father and ask what he thought about the young lady from the church he’d been praying about getting to know better.  Our father gave his blessing and went to go visit the young lady’s father to inquire if he was open to marrying his daughter to my brother. Her father gave his blessing and said he’d ask her if she was open to entering a courtship with my brother with the goal of marriage within 6 months.  She said YES when her father asked and their courtship officially began.  My brother and now dear sister-in-law were made fo...
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What is it like to grow up Amish?

  I grew up in a religious community similar to the Amish and Mennonite communities called “Charity”. This name came from the main church located in Pennsylvania called Charity Christian Fellowship. Our church was located in Michigan and called Marilla Christian Fellowship.    

I'm the one wearing brown in the center

Church members had no contact with the outside world and kept members isolated.  Men were the head of the church and the home with women being homemakers and having children. Inside this world, there was no such thing as science or musical instruments. The police were only a vague group described as evil people who served Satan and would hurt us if they came in contact.

I first learned that there were people in this world who didn't believe in beating women and children at a doctor's office by chance due to having serious health issues. I used the laddies' room alone and saw a poster depicting domestic violence with big Xs.

 I now work in forensic psychology and education. It is my hope this blog will combine the two and help raise more awareness on what is going on in these isolated religious communities.  

What are your questions about growing up in an isolated plain religious community? 

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