Indiantown Mennonite Church (Ephrata, Pennsylvania, USA)
Indiantown Mennonite Church, located in Ephrata, northern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was member of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference from 1725 until December 2009. The church was the central point for the eastern end of the Hammer Creek-Indiantown District. After worshiping for nine decades in eight private homes, meetinghouses were built in 1819 at both Hammer Creek and Indiantown (the latter in the last Indian reservation in this county). The congregation grew until the middle of the 19th century, when the Reformed Mennonites made a sizable schism. In the mid-20th century there were additions from Weaverland and from the Old Order Mennonites, and the congregation grew. The membership in 1954 was 150. Denver, once a preaching point, was a thriving outpost of Indiantown. The earlier preachers included Christian Risser, Abraham Brubaker, John R. and Jonas H. Hess, and more recently Noah Hurst, Henry P. Fox; and Isaac Gehman, with Amos S. Horst and Mahlon M. Zimmerman as bishops, and Jacob M. Hurst as deacon.
Indiantown Mennonite Church left the Lancaster Mennonite Conference in December 2009 and became an independent congregation, with over 75% of the 165 members approving the withdrawal. Members disagreed with the conference's acceptance of women's ordination and divorce and remarriage, felt that the conference did not take a firm stand against homosexuality, and disliked joining Mennonite Church USA.
Jay S. Weaver has served as minister since December 2009.
Bibliography
Schrag, Paul. "Fewer Churches Leaving Mennonite Church USA: Churches From Western District, Lancaster Conference Among Those Withdrawn." The Mennonite (July 2011): 40, 43.
Additional Information
Address: 255 Indiantown Road, Ephrata, PA 17522
Telephone: 717-733-1510
Website: Indiantown Mennonite Church
| Author(s) | Ira D Landis |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | November 2011 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Landis, Ira D and Richard D. Thiessen. "Indiantown Mennonite Church (Ephrata, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Indiantown_Mennonite_Church_(Ephrata,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=88215.
APA style
Landis, Ira D and Richard D. Thiessen. (November 2011). Indiantown Mennonite Church (Ephrata, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Indiantown_Mennonite_Church_(Ephrata,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=88215.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 31. All rights reserved.
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