New Holland Mennonite Church (New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA)
Source: Mennonite Community Photograph Collection, The Congregation (HM4-134 Box 1 photo 010.0-1).
Mennonite Church USA Archives, Goshen, Indiana.
The New Holland Mennonite Church in New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA, began as a response to rural Mennonites beginning to move into town at the beginning of the 20th century. These included members from the Weaverland, Groffdale, and Hershey congregations.
Noah H. Mack began to hold services every other week on Sunday evenings in the local Methodist Episcopal Church in 1910. In 1913 women organized a sewing circle, and in 1915 the group began a Sunday school that met on Sunday afternoons. In 1921 work began on erecting a Mennonite meetinghouse on Roberts Avenue.
On 18-19 March 1922, the not-yet-organized congregation dedicated a new 54 x 90-foot building that would hold up to 700 persons. Finally, on 18 November 1923, 55 charter members formed the New Holland Mennonite Church. From their number, they called Noah N. Sauder as the first local pastor.
In 1974 the congregation built a larger facility on Western Avenue. The New Holland Spanish Mennonite Church bought the 1922 building.
In 1981 the congregation started a daycare ministry. The New Holland Learning Center had grown to 100 children by 2020.
In June 2016, New Holland Mennonite Church chose to leave Lancaster Mennonite Conference and join the Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA, and formally joined the conference in October.
In 2019 the congregation moved from traditional membership to an annual membership covenant. The first Covenant Sunday was held on 24 February 2019. That same year the congregation launched a community garden "Sprouts for Peace Garden" on its property.
Bibliography
"History." New Holland Mennonite Church. 2020. Web. 24 December 2021. https://www.newhollandmc.org/history.
Martin, Darvin L. A People on the Way: History of the New Holland Mennonite Church: Seventy-Five Years 1922-1997. New Holland, Pa.: New Holland Mennonite Church, 1997.
Musser, Shelley. "New Holland, Pa." Gospel Herald 15, no. 1 (6 April 1922): 9.
Additional Information
Address: 18 Western Avenue, New Holland, Pennsylvania 17557
Phone: 717-354-0602
Website: https://www.newhollandmc.org/
Denominational Affiliations: Atlantic Coast Conference
Pastoral Leaders at New Holland Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Noah H. Mack (1861-1948) (Bishop) |
1910-1919 1919-1923 |
| Noah N. Sauder (1882-1965) | 1923-1965 |
| Mahlon S. Witmer (1893-1975) (Bishop) |
1934-1939 1939-1975 |
| Daniel S. Sensenig (1912-1985) | 1941-1947 1970-1977 |
| Frank E. Shirk (1925-2014) | 1958-1977 |
| James H. Martin (1907-1980) | 1947-1976 |
| Robert A. Martin | 1975-1983 |
| Clarence Nevin Miller (1927-1993) | 1980-1983 |
| James Musser (Youth) | 1981-1983 |
| Charles S. Good (1923-2003) | 1983-1989 |
| Clyde Kratz | 1989-2002 |
| A. Richard Weaver (Associate) | 2000-2002 |
| Ronald E. Zook | 2002-2013 |
| Judith E. Zook (Associate) | 2002-2013 |
| Dawn Ranck-Hower | 2014-present |
Membership at New Holland Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1923 | 55 |
| 1930 | 163 |
| 1940 | 234 |
| 1950 | 250 |
| 1960 | 270 |
| 1970 | 294 |
| 1980 | 305 |
| 1990 | 254 |
| 2000 | 175 |
| 2007 | 131 |
| 2020 | 52 |
Map
Map:18 Western Avenue, New Holland, PA 17557
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 862. All rights reserved.
The New Holland Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located in eastern Lancaster County in New Holland, Pennsylvania, was organized for a number of retired farmers and nearby farmers from the Weaverland, Groffdale, and Hershey congregations. In 1910-1922 services were held in the Methodist church, with Noah H. Mack as minister. In 1922 a large meetinghouse was built in the town. Noah Sauder was the first local minister, ordained 20 December 1923. By the mid-1950s six ordinations had been held. Mahlon Witmer as bishop, and Noah N. Sauder and James H. Martin as ministers served a congregation of 258 members in 1956.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2021 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "New Holland Mennonite Church (New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2021. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=New_Holland_Mennonite_Church_(New_Holland,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=176640.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (December 2021). New Holland Mennonite Church (New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=New_Holland_Mennonite_Church_(New_Holland,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=176640.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.