5. Church

This is the church for the Amana Church Society. Each village had its own church building that was located in the center part of the village. There are no steeples on the church building and no stained glass. 

The church buildings look very similar to other buildings in the village with the exception of size. Inside the building is very plain with scrubbed pine benches and no ornamentation. The practice in the Amana Church Society is that men and women are separated during the church service. Women enter through the west doors and men through the east doors. Instead of a pastor or priest the Amana Church Society has Elders. The Elders are volunteers and take the role of a pastor in leading the church service and providing prepared commentary each Sunday. They sit in front and face o looking out at the congregation with the women on one side and the men on the other. During early communal days the church members would attend 11 church services each week. Today there are services on Sunday (both in German and English) along with a Wednesday evening prayer service. This is one of two church buildings still used by the congregation today and generally reserved for the largest services or weddings.