Amish Sundays

We have these friends, Gavin and Andrea. Gavin is our associate pastor, Andrea is his wife. They told us of these friends they have that lived down in Texas that do this thing they call "Amish Sunday." Amish Sunday is a Sunday when you don't drive more than twenty miles per hour no matter where you're going. It's a blast! Matt Bex and I went from church, one Sunday, to Jreck Subs in Canastota, keeping in the twenty to thirty range the whole time. It was really hard, but it was great. The idea, at least for me, if not the guys from Texas, is that you just take your time, don't care too much about what's happening and just enjoy the day, slowly.

The more I think about Amish Sundays the more I want to institute it as a family rule. On Sundays: No cell phones, no internet, no excessive speeds. Just good quiet times that edify family, friends and community. Did you know that the Amish don't prohibit certain technology just because they're scared of it, or against it for technology sake, they actually try to determine if a piece of technology is either good for the family or bad; is it good for community or does it detract from it? I think this is one of the most beautiful aspects of the Amish faith. That family and community are so much more important to them than convenience and ease of labor. It's pretty great.

So could we really pull that off... I'm not sure. But having a Spiritual environment that really promotes family and community over getting to the next thing as quickly as possible, or having a day when there aren't a thousand text messages being sent to so-and-so, just one day out of the week when we slow down just enough to reflect on God and all that He's done for us, that sounds really good to me.