Moses M. Beachy - Amicable Relations in Spite of Differences

Amicable Relations in Spite of Differences

Despite the failure of those involved in the 1927 church division to resolve their differences, there was mutual agreement by them on shared use of the two church meetinghouses, and for many years the two groups continued to meet at alternating locations, helping to equalize the travel distance by members who lived over a widely dispersed area. In 1928, the new Beachy congregation approved the use of automobiles, and in another year electricity and telephones, something that immediately distinguished them from the Old Order Amish, for whom travel is typically conducted by horse and carriage and have been more selective in their adaptation to modern technology. Even though one church group now drove automobiles, the shared, amicable ownership and use of two church buildings continued until 1953, seven years after the death of Moses Beachy, when the Beachy Amish group constructed a more modern building and called themselves Mountain View Fellowship.