Strasburg Mennonite Church (Strasburg, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Strasburg Mennonite Church is rooted in the immigration of Bishop Benedikt Brechbill from the Palatinate to 250 acres of land west of Strasburg. The northern part of the land became the location of the Strasburg Mennonite meetinghouse and cemetery. The second Johannes Herr built a family dwelling on the Brackbill farm in 1740 that also served as a meetinghouse until 1804, when a new location on the western edge of the borough was granted to the "Menonists." The congregation built a stone meetinghouse of colonial structure.
The congregation enlarged the meetinghouse in 1877 and 1887. It razed the building in 1925, and erected a new brick church.
Bibliography
Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord's: a narrative history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 1138-1169.
Weaver, Martin G. Mennonites of Lancaster Conference: containing biographical sketches of Mennonite leaders, histories of congregations, missions, and Sunday schools, record of ordinations, and other interesting historical data. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1931. Reprinted Ephrata, PA: Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church Publication Board, 1982: 38-39, 43-44, 47-48, 52-64. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.
Additional Information
Address: 1514 Village Road, Strasburg, Pennsylvania 17579
Telephone: 717-687-8471
Website: https://www.strasburgmennonite.org/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)
Pastoral Leaders at Strasburg Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Benedikt Brechbill (1666-1720)(Bishop) | 1717-1720 |
| Ulrich Brackbill (1703-1739) | ?-1739 |
| Johannes Herr (1702-1783) | By 1739-1783 |
| Johannes Herr (1720-1797) | ?-1797 |
| Henry Metzler (1762-1837) | 1790s?-1837 |
| Peter B. Eby (1765-1843) (Bishop) |
1800-1804 1804-1843 |
| Christian B. Herr (1780-1853) (Bishop) |
1835-1840 1840-1853 |
| David Homsher (1799-1855) | 1835-1855 |
| Benjamin Herr (1801-1888) (Bishop) |
1838-1856 1856-1888 |
| Joseph Hershey (1791-1856)(Bishop) | 1849-1856 |
| Amos Herr (1816-1897) | 1850-1897 |
| Jacob Andrews (1818?-1873) | 1856-1873 |
| Elias Groff (1838-1924) | 1871-1924 |
| Abraham H. Brubaker (1845-1916) | 1874-1916 |
| Isaac W. Eby (1834-1910) (Bishop) |
1876-1878 1878-1910 |
| Frank M. Herr (1855-1941) | 1897-1941 |
| Christian M. Brackbill (1853-1936)(Bishop) | 1910-1936 |
| Christian M. Brubaker (1871-1946) | 1916-1946 |
| Abram L. Martin (1881-1946)(Bishop) | 1921-1946 |
| Jacob T. Harnish (1879-1966) (Bishop) |
1929-1946 1946-1966 |
| Emory H. Herr (1908-1983) | 1944-1983 |
| Clayton L. Keener (1902-1982)(Bishop) | 1960-1982 |
| Charles E. Good (1917-2012) (Bishop) |
1966-1978 1978-1990s |
| Harry M. Brenneman (1934-2012)(Bishop) | 1973-1978 |
| Isaac L. Frederick (1927-1995) | 1976-1985? |
| John "Wade" Groff (1930-1995) | 1982-1995 |
| Timothy J. Lapp | 1985-1990? |
| Nathan B. Hege (1927-2021)(Bishop) | 1986-1994 |
| Raleigh D. Rhodes III | 1991-2001 |
| John "J. Vernon" Myers (Bishop) | 1994-2010s? |
| John D. Meck | 1995- |
| John F. Mishler | 2002?-2006? |
| Stephen S. Weaver (Bishop) |
2003-2015 2015-2023 |
| John H. Groff (Associate) | 2015- |
| Clifford Horst (Associate) | 2015- |
| John Druoillard (Bishop) | 2023- |
Strasburg Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 2000 in District |
| 1915 | 360 |
| 1920 | 390 |
| 1930 | 385 |
| 1940 | 476 |
| 1950 | 364 |
| 1960 | 316 |
| 1970 | 290 |
| 1980 | 273 |
| 1990 | 219 |
| 2000 | 192 |
| 2009 | 200 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 644-645. All rights reserved.
Strasburg Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), located 9 miles southeast of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a member of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference, was from the start a strong Mennonite community. This was the home of Bishop Benedict Brackbill (1665-1720), leader both in Europe and here, his son Ulrich Brackbill (1703-39), also a minister, John Herr (III) (1708-83), and Preacher John Herr (1720-97), who in 1740 built a 2 1/2 -story stone house on the Brackbill farm as a dwelling, which was also provided with room for worship services and was used until 1804. (It is now owned by Charles E. Good.) That year John Brackbill, Sr., gave John Brackbill, Jr., John Funk, Henry Breneman, and Jacob Groff the present site of ground on the western edge of the borough, "being willing and desirous to promote the spiritual growth and religious fellowship of the people called Menonists in this neighborhood." This beautiful stone church, 40 x 60 ft, of colonial architecture, was the largest Mennonite meetinghouse of its day. It was enlarged in 1877 and 1887, and razed in 1925 for a new brick church 57 x 103 ft.
In 1957 Emory H. Herr was the pastor, with a membership of 348. It formerly was a part of the Brick-Strasburg circuit.
| Author(s) | Ira D. Landis |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | March 2026 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Landis, Ira D. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Strasburg Mennonite Church (Strasburg, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2026. Web. 15 Apr 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Strasburg_Mennonite_Church_(Strasburg,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181928.
APA style
Landis, Ira D. and Samuel J. Steiner. (March 2026). Strasburg Mennonite Church (Strasburg, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 April 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Strasburg_Mennonite_Church_(Strasburg,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181928.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.