Hernley Mennonite Church (Manheim, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Hernley Mennonite Church north of Manheim, Pennsylvania began before 1745. The land for the church and cemetery was sold to the "Society of Mennonites" on 22 May 1745 by Thomas and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn, for four pounds, seven shillings, and eight pence. The building erected at this location also served as a school.
The building may have been replaced in 1766. The congregation erected a new brick building in 1869, which was enlarged in 1919.
Hernley Mennonite met with the Gantz Mennonite Church as one congregation until 1957. They alternated services between the two meetinghouses. In December 1957, Hernley and Gantz agreed to meet as separate congregations, each holding services every Sunday. The rationale was to relieve space pressure for the churches' Sunday school programs.
In the late 1950s, the Hernley congregation's outreach included the East District Mennonite Church in Watsontown, Pennsylvania. East District became a separate congregation in 1963 when Lester E. Miller was ordained to lead the group.
In 2016, the average Sunday worship attendance was 40.
Bibliography
"Hernley Mennonite Church." Shalom News 36, no. 1 (January-March 2016)ː 17.
Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord's: a narrative history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 260, 263, 267, 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: 181, 190-200. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.
Additional Information
Address: 746 Lebanon Road, Manheim, Pennsylvania 17545
Telephone: 717-665-5773
Website: https://www.facebook.com/p/Hernley-Mennonite-Church-100064865790771/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2017)
Pastoral Leaders at Hernley Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Johannes Lehman (ca. 1702-1776) (Bishop) |
By 1748-? ?-1776 |
| Samuel Nissley (1761-1838) (Bishop) |
1790-1800 1800-1838 |
| Benjamin Hershey (1768-1842) | ?-1842 |
| Abraham Horst (1821-1905) | 1868-1905 |
| Jacob H. Snavely (1829-1904) | 1878-1904 |
| Samuel Hershey (1810-1893) | 1879?-1893 |
| John B. Snavely (1864-1937) | 1903-1937 |
| Abram M. Risser (1893-1991) | 1927-1974 |
| Clyde L. Metzler (1914-1974) | 1943-1974 |
| Paul M. Witmer (1923-2009) | 1960-1979 |
| Levi W. Mumma | 1973-1980 |
| Delbert L. Kautz | 1980-1981 |
| Donald O. Nauman | 1981-1987? |
| Lester M. Hoover (1921-2010)(Interim) | 1990?-1991? |
| Jay M. Peters (Associate) (Co-Pastor) |
1988-2014 2014- |
| George M. Hurst | 1992-2017 |
| Mark B. Boll (1941-2024)(Associate) | 2006?-2008 |
| Margie Peters (Co-Pastor) | 2014- |
Hernley Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1913 with Gantz |
125 |
| 1920 with Gantz |
175 |
| 1930 | 91 |
| 1940 with Gantz |
227 |
| 1950 with Gantz |
234 |
| 1960 | 164 |
| 1970 | 181 |
| 1980 | 194 |
| 1990 | 154 |
| 2000 | 125 |
| 2009 | 128 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 438-439. All rights reserved.
Gantz-Hernley Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), of the vicinity of Manheim, Pennsylvania, a member of Lancaster Mennonite Conference, worships in two meetinghouses. The Gantz meetinghouse, a brick building 40 x 60 ft., located 3.5 miles (six km) northwest of Manheim, was built in 1915 on the site of the first church, which had been purchased in 1880. The Hernley church was built one mile north of Manheim in 1745 on land contributed by the Penns and was enlarged in 1919. Sunday school and worship services are held every Sunday alternately in the two churches. The membership in 1955 was 256; the ministers were Abram M. Risser and Clyde L. Metzler; the deacons were Isaac E. Tyson and John R. Nissley; the bishop in charge was Homer D. Bomberger. An early division resulted in a considerable loss into the Church of the Brethren.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | May 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Hernley Mennonite Church (Manheim, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2025. Web. 21 May 2025. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hernley_Mennonite_Church_(Manheim,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180641.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (May 2025). Hernley Mennonite Church (Manheim, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 May 2025, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hernley_Mennonite_Church_(Manheim,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180641.
©1996-2025 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.