Plain Meetinghouses

This eye-catching volume will become an increasingly valuable documentary on the religious life of the Old Order Mennonite communities in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Exquisite photography captures the startling artistry of the commonplace in a masterful interplay of light, shadows, and changing seasons. Who would have imagined that the graceful curves of unstained poplar wood or a silhouetted graveyard scene could be so symbolic? With exhaustive detail, clarifying graphics, and crisp narrative, the author delves into a maze of conference, district, and congregational relationships.
―Carolyn C. Wenger, archivist, editor, and curator, Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Plain Meetinghouses beautifully conveys the contours of old order spirituality. With lovely photos and insightful text, Beth Oberholtzer and John Herr invite us to consider the rituals of devotion and the details of architecture that shape old order worship. This important book documents a vital aspect of traditional Mennonite life.
—Steven M. Nolt, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College , Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

The vernacular architecture of the plain meetinghouses is the simplistic beauty and balance of the rectangular structures with steeped pitched roofs and similar fenestration rhythm, evolving from their subculture and religious traditions, not from an architect like myself. This book presents historical and theological influences that has informed this vernacular, yet distinctions evolved from one district/conference to another, which has survived the ages and cultural changes, capturing this essence well in both word and photography. 
The term "simple elegance" is a consideration I've encountered designing Mennonite churches, which I believe has its roots in the church structures documented herein, yet has evolved much beyond the Old Order plain meetinghouse style in broader Mennonite circles.
—Dale R. Yoder, AIA, Owner of Cornerstone Design-Architects, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Old Order Mennonites and their various conservative branches have maintained a meeting place architecture that tugs at the heartstrings of those who appreciate such a symbolic setting. With Beth Oberholtzer writing and arranging the photography of John Herr, they describe the worship practices and plain architecture that has its roots in the 16th centuries. Anabaptist at first met in secret places, which led to gatherings in the homes seated around the kitchen table listening to the Biblical Word being expounded. This custom became the standard of worship in the new world. As this book so skillfully describes the Old Order vision of maintaining the ancient mode of worship, as it slowly evolved from house meetings to meeting houses and brings to light a people hood who continue the struggle to maintain the virtues of simplicity and humility in their architecture and worship practices.
—Lloyd M. Weiler, historian, Muddy Creek Library and Farm Museum, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

This beautifully designed book investigates a type of vernacular architecture—the Old Order Mennonite meetinghouse—that has fostered the continuation of spiritual communities for several hundred years in Lancaster County. Oberholtzer’s text offers an exhaustive account of the history of meetinghouses and their respective Mennonite conferences, explains the architectural subtleties of these unadorned structures and their furnishings, and celebrates the quiet dignity such spaces represent in our modern landscape so dominated by buildings that serve commercial purposes. Perfectly wedding form and function, Old Order Mennonite meetinghouses, as Oberholtzer relates, reflect the staunch values of the communities that devotedly build and maintain them. Herr’s color photographs, elegantly composed, illuminate Oberholtzer’s account in a way that is indispensable. The text and photographs work hand-in-hand to make this volume an exceptional addition to the documentation of communal worship places.
—Richard K. Kent, Professor, Art & Art History Department, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania