When we know it, we are humbled and nourished and eager to love as God loves. When we don’t know it, we listen poorly, work too hard and strive to be better than we are. We are members of Atlantic Coast Conference (locally), Mennonite Church USA (denominationally), and Mennonite World Conference (globally). Theologically, we are guided by Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. But if ever
yone came on the same Sunday, we’d be more like 300. We are 80-some children, and half of them are under the age of 10! Our worship services are pretty noisy some of the time. We are committed to nurturing children in ways that honor their uniqueness, and challenge them to learn to know Jesus, and how to be part of a community. We are over 90 years old. The church was founded near Dillerville Road on the north edge of Lancaster in 1934 as Dillerville Mission. As the group that met on Sunday afternoons grew, the Sunday School became North End Mennonite Church. In 1971, the church moved into its current building and in 1981 was renamed Blossom Hill Mennonite Church. We built an addition onto and renovated our original building. We held our first service in the new sanctuary on September 16, 2007, and held a dedication service on December 9, 2007. The project was a leap of faith for us, but we sensed God’s leading many times in the process of discernment. We are happy to now be able to provide meeting space for a wide range of community groups. We do many things during the week. We are teachers, business people, students, church agency workers, nurses, cooks, mid-wives, doctors, retirees, farmers, chaplains, maintenance workers, administrators, missionaries, chemists, stay-at-home Moms and Dads, computer gurus, librarians, and some other things. We are single and married. Attention is given to the reality that many singles feel that churches are couple oriented. We try not to be couple oriented, but to welcome the participation and voices of all, regardless of marital status. We have lived in many places. Many members of the congregation have spent time living in other countries as missionaries or relief workers. A few others travel regularly in their work with church agencies. It is not unusual to hear directly from another part of the world on Sunday morning. We’re not afraid to admit it when our faith is weak, or our doubts feel bigger than what we are sure of. Faith questions are welcomed. We find that it actually takes more faith to not know for sure...and yet believe, hope, and depend on God. We like to sing. Much of our singing is 4-part a ca****la, but it is not unusual for there to be piano, guitar or drumming accompaniment. Musicians abound among us. Finding time to practice seems to be the biggest problem. We like to eat together. On the 2nd Sunday of every month, we have a pot-luck (everyone bring something) meal together following our worship service. We do not hear the same person preach every week. The lead pastor preaches only two Sundays a month, and so we hear other voices from the congregation regularly, as well as guest speakers from beyond our congregation. We believe that God intended for all of humankind to live together in peace. And we believe that in order for that to happen, we must be committed to being peacemakers in the world. That means we take the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount seriously, so that loving our enemies becomes our goal rather than killing them, or even hating them. We are conscientious objectors to war. We make this commitment only because of God’s grace and mercy. We feel responsible to care for God’s good earth. We try to live gently and simply on the earth. We made decisions while building our new space with the environment in mind. We strive to adjust our lifestyles according to this commitment. We want to be a sign of God’s kingdom on earth. Being a healthy community matters to us. We pay attention to how we are getting along with each other. God’s kingdom is something you can see, and when God’s people are treating each other as we’re instructed to do in so many places in the Bible . . . God’s kingdom on earth is visible. We pray for the strength and wisdom to reflect God’s kingdom on earth.
