Springs Mennonite Church (Springs, Pennsylvania, USA)
Springs Mennonite Church (MC), located at Springs, 4 miles west of Salisbury, Pennsylvania, a member of the Allegheny Mennonite Conference, was founded in 1780. Until 1853 the congregation, known as the Society of Mennonites, met in homes for worship under Lancaster Mennonite Conference. The first minister was Jakob Seiler (later Saylor), an Amishman from Germany, who had been ordained bishop to serve in the Meyersdale area. In 1853, after a period of decline, Henry H. Blauch was ordained to the ministry, and in the half century of his service the church grew from 22 members to about 250 in the Casselman Valley district. In 1859 the Mennonite Union Church, known as Keim's, was built at St. Paul with the Lutheran and Reformed congregations. In 1874 a meeting was held here to consider the formation of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Conference, now the Allegheny Conference. In 1878 a meetinghouse was built at Springs, known first as the Folk Church. It was remodeled and enlarged in 1916 and 1925, and replaced by a new church in 1954. The product of the missionary outreach of this church are the Oak Grove, Casselman, Glade, Pinto, and Gortner Mennonite churches. Other mission points are Laughlin, turned over to the Brethren; Lageer, turned over to Glade; Bear Hill; Manadier; Fairview; Black Hawk, later called Meadow Mountain; Dry Run; Red Run; Bear Creek, and Meyersdale. The membership of the Springs congregation in 1957 was 291, with Roy Otto as bishop, and Walter Otto as pastor.
| Author(s) | Elmer E Bittinger |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bittinger, Elmer E. "Springs Mennonite Church (Springs, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Springs_Mennonite_Church_(Springs,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=68354.
APA style
Bittinger, Elmer E. (1959). Springs Mennonite Church (Springs, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Springs_Mennonite_Church_(Springs,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=68354.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 603. All rights reserved.
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