Moderate Old Order Mennonite Groups

Moderate Old Order Mennonite Groups in North America tend to be the oldest of the Old Order Mennonite groups, established in the late 19th century, as conservative divisions from the (Old) Mennonite conferences. These groups separated over issues of new preaching and worship styles, use of English in worship, as well as the introduction of Sunday schools.

Moderate Old Order Mennonites use horse and buggy transportation, but use tractors on their farms. They can often be quite diverse within one group, with some more traditional and some more progressive members. The more traditional may not use electricity or have phones in their homes, while the more progressive members may have computerized machinery on their farms. This is often termed "selective modernization". In addition, whole groups of moderate Old Orders may lean from traditional to progressive. For example, the Kinloss sub-group of the Old Order Mennonite Church in Ontario maintain a much more traditional Ordnung (Communal guidelines) than the rest of their church members, and live in a separate community. On the other hand, for example, the Independent Old Order Mennonite Church as a group allow the use of cellphones, while also driving horse and buggy. Most members use electricity and phones in their homes, although there is also some variation in this. All wear plain clothes, along with their children, and the latter go either to church run or public schools.

The following is a list of Moderate Old Order Mennonite groups in North America:

Old Order Mennonite Church in Ontario, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, Canada

Independent Old Order Mennonite Church, Ontario, Canada

Groffdale Old Order Mennonite Conference, USA

Riverdale Old Order Mennonite Church, USA

Original Virginia Conference of Old Order Mennonites

See Also

Traditional Old Order Mennonite Groups

Progressive Old Order Mennonite Groups

Old Order Mennonite Groups in Ontario

S. S. G. Edwards