Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship (New York, New York, USA)

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The Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship, New York, New York, USA, had its roots in the late 1970s when several efforts launched a Mennonite fellowship group in Manhattan for the 150 or so Mennonite students and young professionals that lived in the city. A Peace Mennonite Fellowship began to meet in the late 1970s, including Mel Lehman, Ardis Grosjean, Gloria Leinbach, Lin Garber, and Arthur Berk. Michael and Alice Bender were contact persons for the formal Peace Mennonite Fellowship that began in 1981 and included 15-20 people. It affiliated with the Eastern District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church, with Ross Lynn Bender identified as a leader. The group was very diverse and transient.

By 1982 the group began to change. It was organized as the Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship in 1983, with Mary Classen Born and Mel Lehman providing pastoral leadership. The congregation maintained the link with the General Conference Mennonite Church and joined the Mennonite Church (MC). Soon the 20 core participants moved from meeting at the Broadway Presbyterian Church to a Sunday evening service at the Friends Meeting House.

Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship called its first paid minister in October 1989. John D. Rempel had been the chaplain at Conrad Grebel College in Waterloo, Ontario. In 1997 it purchased Menno House from Eastern Mennonite Missions when that board wanted to divest itself of a building it had purchased in 1958 to provide a center for Mennonite men performing alternative service in New York City. The Fellowship had a close relationship with Menno House, locating its office and some activities there.

By 1993 the congregation related to the Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA in addition to a "Council" of Anabaptist-related churches in the New York metropolitan area.

Bibliography

MacMaster, Richard K. Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches of New York City. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2006: 340-345.

Rempel, John and John Plummer. "New York City congregation buys Menno House." Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 18, no. 4 (July-August 1997): 3.

Williamson, Denise. "Manhattan Fellowship seeks 'the welfare of the city.'" Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 14, no. 6 (November-December 1993): 4.

Additional Information

Meeting Address: Friends Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Place, New York, New York 10003

Phone:

Website: https://manhattanmennonite.org/

Denominational Affiliations: Atlantic Coast Conference

Mennonite Church USA

Pastoral Leaders at Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship

Name Years
of Service
Informal leadership 1981-1989
John D. Rempel 1989-2000
Phyllis Bristow-Johnson (Sabbatical Interim) 1998
Arlene S. Pipkin (1942?-2002) 2000-2002
Miles Reimer (Interim) 2002
E. Stanley Bohn (Interim) 2002-2003
Peter Emery (Interim) 2004
Lay leadership 2004-2006
Sylvia E. Shirk 2006-2017
Jason A. Storbakken 2017-present

Membership at Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship

Year Membership
1991 34
2000 28
2007 35
2020 62


Author(s) Samuel J Steiner
Date Published December 2021

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship (New York, New York, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2021. Web. 15 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Manhattan_Mennonite_Fellowship_(New_York,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=172742.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (December 2021). Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship (New York, New York, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Manhattan_Mennonite_Fellowship_(New_York,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=172742.




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