Amish Conference 2027
Call for Papers
Health and Community Well-Being in Amish and Other Plain Community Contexts: A Multidisciplinary Conference
June 29–July 1, 2027
Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
The conference will address issues of health, healing, health care, and individual and community well-being in Amish and other Plain Anabaptist community contexts, with the goal of sharing new research and best practices. Topics will include culturally appropriate care, genetics, community-based participatory research, mental health, preventive medicine, alternative and complementary medicine, barriers to health care access, health and Anabaptist spirituality, insurance, aging, and death and dying. Conference attendees will develop a deeper understanding of Amish culture and the diversity within and among these communities, which are growing, changing, and putting down roots in new locations across North America each year. Attendees will grow in their confidence to engage with community members.
Conference planners welcome proposals from scholars and practitioners working in disciplines of medicine, public health, social science, public policy, and human services, as well as proposals on other aspects of Amish life or focused on other traditional Anabaptist groups. Practice-based, community-engaged, and interdisciplinary proposals are especially encouraged.
Planners invite abstracts for paper presentations, seminars/panels, and poster sessions. In addition, proposals are welcome for longer-format pre-conference workshops.
Submissions should include an abstract of up to 350 words that includes a clear statement of topic, methods, and significance. In addition, each submission must include 2-3 learning objectives that are clear, measurable, appropriate for the proposed format, and aligned with the conference purpose and intended audience.
Submit all proposals here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/pNUtqh548q
Deadline: October 1, 2026
Decision: December 1, 2026
Continuing education units will be available for registered nurses and certified health educators.
Optional pre-conference tours of the Lancaster Amish settlement, including visits to medical centers that relate to the Plain community, are being planned for June 28, 2027.
The conference will be held on the campus of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA. The campus is 20 minutes from Harrisburg International Airport and 90 minutes from both Philadelphia International Airport and Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. Elizabethtown also has an Amtrak station with regular service from the Keystone Line.
Conference partners include the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, the Center for Appalachia Research in Cancer Education, and the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities published by Ohio State University Libraries.