Redeemer Community Church, The (Flushing, New York, USA)
The Redeemer Community Church, Flushing, New York, USA, began in 1983 out of a Bible study held in the home of John I. and Irene Smucker. The Smuckers had returned to New York City at the invitation of the New York City Council of Mennonite Churches specifically to plant a new urban congregation. The Bible study group included Queens College students such as Mark and Anabelle Perri. Informally, the new church plant was known as the Queens Mennonite Church.
Initially, the small group first met in the Smuckers' home. In May 1984 the congregation began met Sunday evenings in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Northern Boulevard in Flushing. By that summer the congregation agreed on The Redeemer Community Church name, partly inspired by the Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas. By October 1984 more than 50 persons related to the church.
When the space in the Quaker Meeting House became too small, the congregation moved to the St. John's Episcopal Church at Sanford Avenue and 149th Place.
In 1990 the Elim Tabernacle, a nondenominational charismatic church, called John I. Smucker as its pastor. Smucker had taught at the Elim Bible Institute which was linked to the congregation. For the rest of 1990s Smucker pastored both congregations while talk of merging the groups began. By January 1991 The Redeemer Community Church was worshiping jointly with the Elim Tabernacle. They merged in May 1991 as the Immanuel Community Church, meeting in the Masonic Temple on Bell Boulevard in Bayside.
Bibliography
"Church grows in Flushing." Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 6, no. 2 (March-April 1985): 1-2.
MacMaster, Richard K. Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches of New York City. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2006: 311, 314-317.
Smucker, Irene Y. "NYC church merger forms Immanuel Community Church." Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 12, no. 5 (September-October 1991): 1-2.
Smucker, Irene Y. "Redeemer celebrates fifth anniversary." Atlantic Coast Conference Currents 10, no. 2 (March-April 1989): 5.
Additional Information
Meeting Address: St. John's Episcopal Church, Sanford Avenue and 149th Place, Flushing, New York
Phone:
Website:
Denominational Affiliations: Atlantic Coast Conference
Mennonite Church (MC)
Pastoral Leaders at The Redeemer Community Church
Name | Years of Service |
---|---|
John I. Smucker | 1983-1990 |
Lester Sutter | 1985-1987 |
Wayne D. King | 1985-1989 |
Membership at The Redeemer Community Church
Year | Membership |
---|---|
1986 | 29 |
1990 | 51 |
Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
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Date Published | March 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Redeemer Community Church, The (Flushing, New York, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2022. Web. 15 Aug 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Redeemer_Community_Church,_The_(Flushing,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=173518.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2022). Redeemer Community Church, The (Flushing, New York, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 August 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Redeemer_Community_Church,_The_(Flushing,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=173518.
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