2021 Cohort

Amana Church Society

(Non-Denominational/Community of True Inspiration)

Middle Amana, Iowa

Amana Church Society in Middle Amana, Iowa, is a symbol of the Amana Colonies, one of the longest-running, largest, and most successful American communal societies.

Amana Church Society by Elly Hoehnle

Amana Church Society by Elly Hoehnle

2021 Cohort

Amana Church Society

(Non-Denominational/Community of True Inspiration)

Middle Amana, Iowa

Amana Church Society in Middle Amana, Iowa, is a symbol of the Amana Colonies, one of the longest-running, largest, and most successful American communal societies.

This church, which served as the founding organization of the Amana Colonies, was the direct heir to the Community of True Inspiration, a religious group founded in Germany in 1714. The Amana Church Society originally settled in upstate New York in 1843 and established seven villages in rural Iowa in the 1850s after development pushed it west. Community life centered on the church, with people living communally and sharing ownership of land and buildings. Members of this communal society used local materials to construct the meeting house in 1864. This vernacular building is the largest place of worship built by an American communal society and is representative of meeting houses built by other plain groups, including the Quakers, Shakers, and Moravians. A vote ended the communal society in 1932, but the church continues to operate as the spiritual foundation of the community.

The congregation is committed to intersectionality with the wider community and proudly accepts all people regardless of race, color, sexual orientation, ability, or gender identity. Today, the four buildings operated by the Amana Church Society serve as a Sunday school, meal site, food pantry, and program and performance space.

A $70,000 National Fund grant and $70,000 in matching funds raised by the congregation will allow the Amana Church Society to complete urgent repairs on two of its buildings: the meeting house (1864) and the kinderschule (c. 1880). Work on the meeting house will include asbestos abatement, window repair, and installation of accessible entrance ramps. In the kinderschule, or children’s school, upgrades to the electrical and HVAC systems and exterior repairs will be completed. The kinderschule will serve as the new location for the church society’s county-wide food pantry, improving the pantry’s accessibility, food safety, and space.

Amana Church Society by Peter Hoehnle

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