Mission to Amish People was founded in 2001 with the purpose of evangelizing and discipling Amish and Former Amish as well as assisting those that leave the Amish by providing education, housing, and basic life skill training. read more...

PA Court flushes Amish free exercise claim after 8-year sewer battle

January 24, 2018

SUGAR GROVE TOWNSHIP, PA - An eight-year conflict has left a Pennsylvania family struggling to practice their faith against a sewage ordinance in Sugar Grove Township, Pennsylvania. Joseph and Barbara Yoder, an Old Order Amish family, have been ordered by local courts to install an electric pump in their outhouse, an action that directly contradicts their religious beliefs.

Court documents from the original 2016 suit indicate that the Yoder family had previously been exempted in 2008 from the city’s demand that they connect their outhouse to the local power grid if the family paid both the connection fees and sewer charges along with monthly charges. Although the family kept up with these demands, in December 2010 the sewage authority filed a municipal claim against the Yoder’s, allegedly for “nonpayment of sewer charges.”

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“ Joe, I did want to say how much we and our church enjoyed your visit and presentation with us. Many people commented on your presentation and how much it opened their eyes. It is my prayer and that of others also that we will be able to bring you on for support but of course that is not up to me. ” - Evansville, IN

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