TodayMennonite congregation finds new home in Newburg
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Article RatingA Mennonite congregation that bought a vacant church in Newburg is getting a warm welcome from the community.
Leaders of the Newburg Mennonite Church say they look forward to building a presence in Newburg, where the congregation now meets in the former Newburg United Methodist Church on Second Street.
The Mennonite congregation — led by Pastor Dan Mast — conducted its first service in the new worship center Feb. 3.
Mast says the new home fills a need.
“We looked for years for a place to establish an outreach church,” Mast says. “When we found this, we decided to pursue it.”
Mast says the doors of the church are open to anyone. He says the church’s basic premise is “we love the Lord.”
Both churches benefit
Pastor Peggy Spengler of the Methodist Church, which now worships in the former elementary school in Newburg, says the new congregation is a welcome addition.
“We’re excited to have the Mennonites in Newburg,” Spengler says. “It’s another presence of Christ, and another congregation to serve the community.”
Spengler sees the hand of God at work.
“I feel like the Lord worked this all out. They needed a church and we wanted to sell ours to help finance a new sanctuary at our location at the former elementary school.”
Bob Witmer, chairman of the Mennonite church’s trustees, says United Methodist members have gone out of the way to smooth the move.
“They’ve been very helpful, showing us where things are and how things work,” Witmer says. “We’ve found everyone in the community to be openly friendly.”
History
While the Mennonite church is new in Newburg, it’s well-established in the area.
Pastor Mast says the Newburg Mennonite Church — which exists under the umbrella of the Strasburg Mennonite Church — has roots that extend back to the 1790s when the congregation began worshiping in the Upper Strasburg area on the mountainside in what is now Letterkenny Township.
Mast says members built the first church in 1812, and rebuilt in 1858 and 1903 before shifting the location to the Cheesetown-Edenville area in 1949.
Mast says there are 18 member families at the Newburg Mennonite Church, and Sunday services draw 93-100 people. There are 33 families at Strasburg.
The Newburg Mennonite church is an Anabaptist sect, generally more conservative than Protestant congregations, Mast says, with the most obvious visual difference found in the conservative attire of its members.
A notable feature of the worship services is the absence of musical accompaniment.
Sunday evening services alternate between Newburg and the Strasburg church, with song dominating one Sunday evening program each month at Newburg.
Mast says an outdoor rack will be on display in Newburg, offering Christian literature.
Witmer says another feature of the Mennonite church is “cottage visits,” which include as many as 20 church members taking part in visits to homes where residents are unable to visit the church because of health reasons. Those visits include song and scripture.
Lee Roy Yeager is the deacon at Newburg, and Allen Fleagle is bishop for both Newburg and Strasburg.
Sunday school classes are at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, with church at 10:15 a.m. Sunday evening services begin at 7 p.m., and Wednesday services are at 7:30 p.m.
Mast welcomes phone calls at 532-5564.
