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Christian Z. Mast, from the Conestoga Amish-Mennonite Church in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, wrote an article for the Gospel Witness in 1907 in which he pointed out that there was an abandoned Mennonite "chapel" (Diamond Rock) in eastern Chester County and lamented that an Amish-Mennonite witness was no longer present there. A newly-formed Mission Committee in the Weaverland Mennonite Church (Lancaster Conference) read Mast’s article and pursued starting a church there in 1908, sending preachers from the Lancaster and Franconia Conferences.

In the spring of 1910, the few local Mennonite families attending services at the “chapel” intentionally changed the meeting place to an old schoolhouse located on the Main Line in Frazer (Route #30) and named it Frazer Mennonite Church. These Mennonites were shop owners of small businesses in or near Frazer who wanted their church visible and accessible in the community rather than four miles northeast out in the country.

From its beginning, Frazer welcomed and attracted local people from non-Mennonite and non-church backgrounds and incorporated them into the life of the church. In 1914, Bishop Benjamin Weaver received an Episcopalian immigrant from Holland, Christine Swanenburg, into membership at Frazer. One of the sons of this family, Mark Swanenburg, became Frazer’s first resident pastor when he was ordained in 1924.

By the 1960s, Frazer became a church for young Mennonites moving to the greater Philadelphia area for higher education, I-W service, medical professions, and more.

In 2010 the congregation's Ploughshares Community Garden offered garden plots to local families. Its soccer field was used by local teams. Its building hosted three Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and provided space for Chester County Intermediate Unit consultations for children with special education needs. It shared worship space with a Pentecostal Hispanic church that met on Sunday afternoons. That year the congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary with a special service on 9 May 2010, and a Bible school reunion held on 12 June 2010. A major celebration was held on the weekend of 15-17 October 2010.

On 20 April 2013, Frazer Mennonite Church was released from membership in the Lancaster Mennonite Conference and became an associate member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The congregation had expressed "preliminary affirmation" for a general membership statement that "welcomes into membership all persons who profess faith in Christ and all who desire to walk with Christ in order to grow and trust in God, in following the light of Scripture and in living Jesus’ way," without naming or singling out gays for exclusion. The congregation requested membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference after it became clear that Lancaster Mennonite Conference would not support the church's position. The congregation became a full member of the Atlantic Coast Conference on 25 October 2014.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J. Steiner
	Richard D. Thiessen
Date Published	November 2021

Brown, Lowell. "Welcoming Stance Affects Church Transfer Request: Atlantic Coast Approves Pa. Congregation's Move From Lancaster Conference." Mennonite World Review (13 May 2013): http://www.mennoworld.org/2013/5/13/welcoming-stance-affects-church-transfer-request/.

Huber, Tim. "Atlantic Coast Conference adds one, loses another." Mennonite World Review (10 November 2014): 3.

Martin, Darvin L. An Experiment in Grace: A Centennial History of Frazer Mennonite Church 1910-2010. Morgantown, Pa.: Masthof Press, 2010.

Martin Hurst, Brenda. "A Brief Introduction to Frazer Mennonite Church for Atlantic Coast Conference Delegates." Frazer Mennonite Church. 4 September 2012. Web. 22 November 2021. https://atlanticcoastconference.net/images/frazerintro.pdf.

Additional Information

Address: 57 Maple Linden Lane, Frazer, Pennsylvania

Phone: 610-644-3397

Website: Frazer Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations:

Lancaster Mennonite Conference (until 2013)

Atlantic Coast Conference (2013-present)

Mennonite Church USA

Pastoral Leaders at Frazer Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
Visiting ministers	1910-1924
Marcus Swanenburg (1893-1979)	1924-1969
Milton G. Brackbill (1896-1997)	1933-1968
C. Ralph Malin (1927-2017)	1945-1977
Ray M. Geigley	1976-1985
Dale Stoltzfus	1985-1987
David Huston	1985-1987
Jason Kuniholm	1987-2005
Vernon Zehr, Jr.	1987-2006
Arthur E. Smoker (Interim)	2005-2007
Brenda Martin Hurst	2007-2017
Nelson Yoder (Interim)	2017-2018
Amy Yoder McGloughlin	2018-present

Membership at Frazer Mennonite Church

Year	Membership
1925	32
1930	40
1940	99
1950	114
1960	118
1970	128
1980	99
1990	120
2000	160
2007	125
2020	90

Map

Map:Frazer Mennonite Church (Frazer, Pennsylvania, USA)

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

The Frazer Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA) is an outgrowth of Diamond Rock in an early Amish settlement two miles north of Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The Weaverland Missions Committee in 1908-1909 revived this work, and in 1917-1918 a frame church was built along the Lincoln Highway, west of Malvern. The 1955 membership, many of non-Mennonite extraction, was 115; Mahlon Witmer had the bishop oversight, Marcus Swanenberg, Milton G. Brackbill, and C. Ralph Malin were the ministers, and Irvin J. King the deacon.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. and Richard D. Thiessen. "Frazer Mennonite Church (Frazer, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2021. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Frazer_Mennonite_Church_(Frazer,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=176803.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. and Richard D. Thiessen. (November 2021). Frazer Mennonite Church (Frazer, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Frazer_Mennonite_Church_(Frazer,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=176803.

Frazer Mennonite Church (Frazer, Pennsylvania, USA)

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