ABSTRACT
Although devoted to the rigorism of Menno Simons, Reformed Mennonites have at times been more willing than other Mennonite groups to relax selected cultural habits acquired during the centuries since Menno Simons. The Reformed Mennonites began to use the English language in worship well before it became acceptable to “Old” Mennonite Church. The Reformed Mennonites have always chosen ministers by vote, not by lot, which had been the “Old” Mennonite practice. The Reformed Mennonites built a meetinghouse in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1855, before there were any other Mennonite meetinghouses in the city. The advent of automobiles was not challenged, and the church adopted public address systems for worship services.
