Coventry Mennonite Church (Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA)
Coventry Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), now extinct, located in East Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, was the first Mennonite congregation in this area. Mennonite settlers came into the Coventry community as early as 1739, and probably conducted their religious services in private homes prior to the erection of the first meetinghouse (1751). The second Coventry meetinghouse was built in 1798 at the present location. The last building was erected in 1890.
Church services at Coventry were conducted by the ministers of the nearby Vincent congregation, though Coventry was originally a larger congregation. However, by 1890 its membership had dwindled to about 20. In 1882 a Sunday school was organized at Coventry as a union school with the Church of the Brethren. This, however, led to some difficulties resulting in the discontinuance of the Sunday school and gradual loss of members to other churches. By 1914 services at Coventry were discontinued.
The maintenance of the German language in the services and its location on the outer fringe of the Franconia Mennonite Conference were probably the causes for the rapid decline and final extinction of the congregation. The cemetery is now completely in the control of non-Mennonites.
Maps
| Author(s) | Quintus Leatherman |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Leatherman, Quintus. "Coventry Mennonite Church (Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Coventry_Mennonite_Church_(Chester_County,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=116055.
APA style
Leatherman, Quintus. (1953). Coventry Mennonite Church (Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Coventry_Mennonite_Church_(Chester_County,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=116055.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 727. All rights reserved.
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