10 Photos From An Amish Bishop’s House

By Kevin Williams

10 Photos From An Amish Bishop’s House

I’ve met my fair share of Amish bishops over the years and I can make some generalizations.  For instance, they often tend to be older men who’s wisdom is revered and sought after. Often the bishop is a successful entrepreneur or farmer.  The same traits tend to attract the flock to select the bishop in the first place.  I’ve met younger bishops and older ones.  There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with being the bishop.  There’s the church service to plan, budgeting and bookkeeping, and tending to the personal and spiritual needs of the individuals in the church.     Just like the clergy in any church, you have some amazing, attentive and inspiring Amish bishops and, on the other end of the spectrum, you have ones that aren’t the cream of the crop and a whole bunch in the middle. These 10 photos from an Amish bishop’s house will give you a feel.
Often – but not always – the bishop tends to live in one of the nicer homes in the church district. That has less to do with their status as bishop and more to do with their success as a farmer or entrepreneur which probably were traits church members were seeking in a bishop.  These photos were taken at the home of an Amish bishop in Montana.  His home was high up on a mountain top overlooking the valley. Most of the Amish lived in the valley, but he and his wife lived in a spacious log home on the mountain.  Super nice couple.  I don't have photos from inside their house, I just didn't feel comfortable asking.  But they were very kind and generous to let me photograph their house and yard.  So, here are 10 photos from an Amish bishop’s house. (If you want to see the inside of a bishop's house, check out these photos from another community I visited)

KOOTENAI, MONTANA

This is a nice wood log home, common in Amish settlements out west.

So many of the items at this home, like this bench, were handcrafted.

This looks like a comfy kids rocker.

This view is from the bishop's mountain side home overlooking the Kootenai region near the Canadian border.

The bishop had a large garden area.  Would be interesting to know what type of veggies grow well on a Montana mountainside. I'm guessing the growing season is short.

Beautiful landscaping at this house....

Can you imagine stepping out each morning with your coffee and having this view?  Incredible.  I'm also imagining what it would be like during a blinding blizzard.  Wow, they probably get walloped here with snow.

LOTS OF WOOD!

I am imagining that this wood probably is crucial for getting through the long winter on this Montana mountain.  Look closely at the photo, that is a big shed and it is full of wood and spilling out. This was in early October when they would have a full supply for the winter.

As is custom, the Amish bishop did not want to be photographed, but he was kind enough to get out his horse and cart and allow us to photograph him behind the horse.  If you look very closely, the collection of buildings down in the valley is where most of the Amish in the Kootenai community live and where the school is located.