The Old Order German Baptist church does not allow electricity, they instead rely on gas lights like this one in the Burns home.
Living in Southwest Ohio I am quite familiar with the Old German Baptist Brethren. Large populations of Brethren live in nearby Preble County.  And  Plain-dressed people are a frequent site at area malls and festivals. But going back to the late 1980s I had heard of a small group of Plain people in my area that, like the Amish, still used horse and buggy as their main mode of transport and rejected horse-drawn buggies.  But I had never seen them. The group is very small and I’ve tried to find them before with no success.  I learned later that this group is called the Old Order German Baptist Brethren and they split off from the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1921 generally over the issue of automobiles. My interest was further stoked in them by an article in National Geographic several years ago about a group of Old Order German Baptists who live in Mississippi.
This is a wonderful 2 minute mini-documentary about the OOGBs near Hot Coffee, Mississippi (who can resist any town named Hot Coffee, the only thing better might be a town called Cold Coke). Â The settlement is pretty much defunct with just one family remaining. Â But it's still considered a separate church district. Â I'll write more about the Hot Coffee community in an upcoming post as part of this series.
I found myself at Doug's Lawnmower Repair last week only minutes away from busy Troy, Ohio. Â Some had told me recently that Doug was a member of the OOGB church. It was a frigid February day and I mused that Doug's was probably about a month or two from being packed busy. But the parking lot was empty now. Â I quickly located Doug who graciously answered some questions from me about the church. Â I noticed that unlike most Brethren men I had met over the years he did not have a beard, so I asked about it (SIGH, an awkward part of my job, having to ask a perfect stranger about their facial hair 60 seconds after meeting them for the first time)
"It's encouraged, but not required, " Doug Burns told me. Â He added that members of the ministry in the church were required to grow a beard. I didn't ask him why he had chosen not to. Â If I grow a beard, it makes me look 20 years older (no thanks), so maybe it was for a reason like that. But it's interesting that the beard is optional.
A classic Old Order German Baptist hat hangs on the banister in the Burns home
I asked him if their church were affiliated with a church of similar style near Delphi, Indiana.
"Oh, no, those are the Old Brethren German Baptists," Doug informed me. Â That church split off in 1939 generally over the use of tractor use, which is still forbidden in Delphi but used in Ohio. Â Doug suggested I go talk to his father next-door for more information.
Donald Burns became bishop of the Covington, Ohio OOGB church at age 39 in 1979 and 36 years later he is still officiating church business. Â The bishop will go by the less formal title of 'elder in charge' because one of the differences between the Amish and the Brethren is that the church is very much consensus-based. Â The practice of holding an annual meeting to discuss church business is a cornerstone of the faith. Â Â The annual meeting is very much like the one in the Old German Baptist Brethren Church, just scaled down without the massive numbers of people. Â There are only three church districts of OOGBS: the Painter Creek District, Covington, and Oak Grove. Â All three districts are clustered around Covington and Gettysburg, Ohio in rural Darke and Miami Counties.
"We don't like to make any changes unless everyone agrees," Donald said.
Donald Burns was very gracious in letting a total stranger (me) into his house and visit. Â We had a long conversation and I took a lot of notes, here are some highlights of the conversation:
1) Â Unlike the Amish church, the OOGB does not practice shunning. Â Burns said they prefer to reach out with love and caring. Â If a problem just can't be resolved, a member can be removed from the church, but those cases are rare. "Circumstances alter cases," Â Burns says, explaining that each situation is different.
2) Like the Amish, OOGB children only attend school through the eighth grade. In the OOGB community, the children attend public school. Â Donald Burns said that the landmark Supreme Court case, Yoder vs. Wisconsin, applied not just to the Amish, but their church and others as well.
3) Â Church members are baptized into the faith by triple body immersion, usually in a "swift flowing stream." Â And he said they'll do it on a cold winter day in icy water if circumstances dictate. Â Donald remarked that the person being dunked often isn't as cold as the minister doing the dunking. Â "At least the person being baptized is fully in the water, it's colder being half in and half out," he chuckled.
4) Â Unlike the Amish, OOGB services are held in English. Â Donald said that decision was made generations ago because "it's difficult to be a witness to the rest of the world if few people can understand you." Â Outsiders are welcome at services and there are some converts to the church. Â Outsiders who try to join the Amish church are often foiled by the language barrier, but no such barrier exists among the OOGBs.
5) Â The OOGB church doesn't allow automobile ownership, but they do allow limited local travel by tractor. Â And phones are permitted, but they are housed in sheds away from the home.
Hard working and humble, Donald and his wife, Mary, raised 7 children. Â He worked a traditional job in nearby Troy for over 30 years. Â I'll be posting more installments about my visit to this church over the days ahead, so stay tuned!
A rocking chair awaits the warm days of spring on the porch of Donald and Mary Burns
A phone shed in a distant snow-covered field
Barb Wright
This is so interesting..can't wait for more!!
Rebecca Wellington
Great story. Loved it. New things about the plain people
Kevin
Thanks, Becky!
brenda
great info. looking fwd to the updates. thank you
brenda
oops I neglected to ask what the rationale is for gas light over electricity . both are something derived from the English. does it have something to do with electrical wiring ?
Kevin
Brenda, yep, that is exactly the season....they don't want to be "on the grid"...so the gaslights help them avoid that.
Meg
Enjoyed your story. It is good to hear someone tell the facts about the religions. I have family in the OOGB church and I grew up that way. I hear so many stories about what people say they believe that is just not true. Seems like you have tried to stay with the facts. It is refreshing. I am not sure about the gas lights though. I thought the reason was to not be "modern" any more than is absolutely necessary. Thank you.
Peter Durksen
Hi
Kevin's comment is right on.
My experience with gas lamps ( I am 80 + years old) was as a child growing up in rural Saskatchewan in the 1940's with no electricity. The light from the gas lamps was brighter than from the kerosene lamps.
My second experience with gas lamps was from about 10 years ago, a dinner with an Amish family in Perth County. Ontario.
About five years later another dinner with same family, they had changed from gas lamps to battery powered LED lights, the batteries being charged as needed with a wind powered generator.
Peter D
Kevin
Sounds like you have had some interesting experiences, Peter, thanks for sharing them with us, stay safe!
kentuckylady717
Kevin, couldn't comment under the weight subject....so will do it here....stay away from the hot chocolate and you can do it.....and drink more water...
I always heard if you had a cup of broth or soup before a meal, then you won't eat so much.....and you know what ? It works 🙂
Glen Miller
Kevin - Some added insight is:
In your Item 2 - The second sentence having a OOGB reference should probably read "In the OGBB community most of the children attend public schools." There is an OGBB school near the Covington OOGB and OGBB meeting houses.
In your Item 3 - Instead of "triple", "trine" would typically be used. Trine signifies three separate dips. "Dip" would typically be used instead of "dunk". The work "Triune" can add confusion to the discussion. "Triune" means an item containing three parts. The three part Godhead is called the Triune God or the Trinity.
An observation of the hat photo - The hat has a binding around the outer edge of the brim. In years past the binding was not considered appropriate be some of the OGBB, and I assume other conservative groups. Instead the hat would have a cut felt edge.
The OOGB are typically called the "Petitioners".
The Covington OOGB group has had sad tragedies during the past few years.
Blessings
Kevin
Glen, thanks for the insight. I'll go in and make some tweaks. Yes, they have had their shares of tragedies but they seem very faith-filled and resilient. Do you have ties to the group? - Kevin
Glen Miller
Another error in my posting - In the section about the hat - "be" should be "by". Modernity has given us spell checkers, however, they need some context smartness!
I have relatives that have OOGB relatives. Sixty-five years ago my father supervised the construction of the OGBB Covington/Sugar Grove Meeting House that is up the road from the OOGB Meeting House. As a result of that and my wife having relatives in the area, we have acquaintances in the area.
The hat photo also shows a couple mirrors and a model church with steeples - These items would have been frowned upon by some in the past!
Blessings.
Glen Miller
A correction in my prior comment - "Work" should have been "word".
Pam Churchill
Truly enjoying this article depicting a tad of history of the OOGB. Enjoying all the replies to your articles as well. My husband & I moved to northern Maine in late August. It wasn't until after our move that we realized that our move put us snap dab in the middle of a growing Amish farm community not just a single family down the road! We are thrilled. We've always been fascinated by the lifestyle of the "plain people", however now that we call them neighbors, we have been given a better understanding of the Amish Community and differences in other Amish Communities. When I first came to your site I came for the great recipes & cookbook a cookbook purchase, but along my path I have discovered a marvelous educational opportunity! I have not been disappointed. There are distinct differences between the Amish practices locally and those not far up the road in Smyrna. Looking forward to learning the differences. Thank you for your dedication, hard work and persistence of doing the amazing job that you are doing here on Amish365.com.
Kevin
Thank you so much for the kind, generous words, Pam. I'll actually be in northern Maine in a couple weeks visiting the Amish settlement at Fort Fairfield. I've been to Unity before. Which community are you near?
Carolyn
Ditto I agree with pam Keven. You do an amazing job. Thank you so much, you give me something to look forward to. Looks like I was not the only one who read your OOGB peace.
Kevin
Thank you for the kind words, Carolyn:)
Linda
Kevin, could I ask you what your background is?
Kevin
Linda, ethnic background or educational? My Mom is Italian-American, my Dad a purely English line.....I have no connection to Plain cultures anywhere in my background, but I've been spending time in Plain communities since I was a teenager....
Terry Berger
I'm very happy to see stories on the Brethren and other groups here. I'm plain Brethren myself. Some years two 'mature' ladies stopped me and asked if I was Amish. I told them, "No, that I was Brethren." They smiled and nodded. As I walked away I heard one say to the other, "He's lying, he's actually Amish, he just didn't want to tell us." The other said, "How can you tell?" The other replied, "The black hat he's wearing." The overall plain community is much larger and diverse than many know or understand.
Terry
Kevin
Thanks for stopping by Terry, always glad to hear other Plain perspectives, are you Old German Baptist Brethren?
Terry Berger
Hello Kevin,
I'm actually a very conservative member of the Moravian Brethren.
Terry
Kevin
Interesting, Terry, I know very little about the Moravian Brethren, I'll have to do some reading!
Terry Berger
I would say that we have a pretty interesting history. We predate Martin Luther by one hundred years. At one point we were a communal people like the Hutterites. If you ever visit Bethlehem, PA or Winston Salem, NC you can still the communal buildings and original layout of the communes. I think the Bruderhof folks would also be similar to us.
Terry
Trent Torrence
Just saw this story when doing some research. I used to be part of the family through marriage (on the non-OOGB side of the family). The Burns family are very good people and non-judgemental. I remember when Doug and his brother first started their small engine repair business in the back yard out building. I’ve visited there once for a family funeral and met most of the large family. What an experience. It was a blend of non-OOGB members and OOGB members. They are a a hard working group of people. Not to mention, they are very intelligent too. Loved your article.
Kevin
Interesting, Trent, thanks for sharing your experiences. This group definitely feels more...deliberate...than the Amish, in other words, as you say, they are very intelligent, they put a lot of thought into what they do...a fascinating group because they do thrive despite being a rather insular, insolated group disconnected from the larger web of Anabaptist groups (like the Amish, Mennonites, etc).