The Only Two Shakers Left Live in Maine Community

New York Daily News ^ | Wednesday, January 4, 2017 | Constance Gibbs

[nickcarraway]

Shakers are on the endangered list.

There are now only two living members left of the Shaker Church in Maine after one died Monday. Sister Frances Carr passed away from cancer at 89.

The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing — a mouthful, to be sure — was a Quaker sect that broke from the Society of Friends in the 18th century. At their height, the group was said to have about 5,000 members across the country.

The Shakers, as they were called because of their trembling during worship, focus on hard work and simplicity, and lead a strong agricultural lifestyle.

The current Shaker community, called Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, is in Maine, where the two remaining members live.

Although often confused with the Amish, unlike that group, Shakers are happy to use modern technology — they even have an informational video on their website.

The group’s dwindling numbers may have been, ahem, pre-ordained, as the Shakers are known for their celibacy.

Rather than building families — the members of the Christian sect don’t even get married — instead, they built communities and relied on conversion and adoption to increase their numbers.

“Celibacy, communal life, and confession of sin are the basic religious tenets of the Shakers,” explains the website for Hancock Shaker Village, a former Shaker village in Hancock, Massachusetts, that’s now home to a museum.

There may be other residents of the Sabbathday Lake community who have shown interest in joining the group, but it takes five years to gain full Shaker status, as an Al Jazeera profile on the group reported last year.

Shakers are also known for being innovative with regard to tools and methods; miminalist furniture, including the ladder back chair; and having invented the circular saw, the flat bottomed broom, and the clothespin.

Brother Arnold Hadd, 60, and Sister June Carpenter, 78, are the last two Shaker members, but Carr held out hope they wouldn’t be the last of their kind.

Funeral services for Sister Carr will be held this Saturday.

[Rebelbase]

Thanks.

[Tax-chick]

You’re welcome.

It’s helpful that the facility there is maintained and functional. If the Global Economic Collapse hits, they’ve got your sustainable, self-sufficient property up and going already.