Salford Mennonite Church (Harleysville, Pennsylvania, USA)
Source: Mennonite Churches in Harleysville, Pennsylvania website.
Salford Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church) was one of the early Mennonite settlements in what is now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The first house of worship was built sometime prior to the first purchase of land by the congregation in 1728. The grantors of the land were Henrich and Modlena Ruth, and the grantees were Henry Funk, Dielman Kolb, Christian Meyer, and Abraham Reiff. These men were or later became ordained Mennonite church officials, Funk a bishop, Kolb a preacher, and Meyer and Reiff deacons. Services were conducted exclusively in German for almost two centuries. The first English-speaking preacher was ordained in 1915. Salford is remembered as the location of one of the schools taught by the noted Mennonite schoolmaster, Christopher Dock, whose other school was at Skippack. About 1770 the original Salford meetinghouse was replaced by a larger one. D. K. Cassel taught school in this meetinghouse in 1839. It was replaced by another in 1850, which was enlarged in 1897, but was torn down in 1924, when the present house of worship, the fourth, was built, 56 x 88 feet in size. Perhaps the most noted minister in the past century was Henry S. Bower (1836-1909), ordained in 1865.
In 1958 the ministers were Rein A. Alderfer and Henry L. Ruth. The membership was above 250 in 1884; in 1958 it was 420.
Bibliography
Alderfer, Joel. Peace be unto this house: a history the Salford Mennonite congregation, 1717-1988. Harleysville, Pa.: The Church, 1988.
Wenger, J. C. History of the Mennonites of the Franconia Conference. Telford, Pa.: Franconia Mennonite Historical Society, 1937: 131-137.
Added Information
Additional Information
Address: 480 Groffs Mill Rd., Harleysville, PA
Phone: 215-256-0778
Website: http://www.salfordmc.org/
Denominational Affiliations: Franconia Mennonite Conference
Ordained Leaders at Salford Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Heinrich Funck (d. 1760) | 1738-1760 |
| Dielman Kolb (1691-1756) | 1738-1756 |
| Christian Haldeman (1744-1833) | 17??-1833 |
| Isaac Alderfer (1773-1842) | 18??-1842 |
| John Bergey (1783-1865) | 1833-1865 |
| Jacob Kolb (1799-1867) | 1842-1867 |
| Isaac K. Clemens (1813-1895) | 1853-1895 |
| Henry S. Bower (1836-1909) | 1865-1909 |
| Jacob C. Moyer (1839-1921) | 1881-1921 |
| Henry M. Clemmer (1849-1936) | 1908-1936 |
| Rein A. Alderfer (1877-1962) | 1915-1961 |
| Elias N. Landis (1897-1957) | 1928-1957 |
| Henry L. Ruth (1918-1993) | 1951-1968 |
| Willis A. Miller (1932- ) | 1961-1992 |
| Clayton V. Beyler (1918-1973) | 1966-1967 |
| Clayton L. Swartzentruber (1928-2010) | 1970-1976 |
| John L. Ruth (1930- ) | 1972-1993ff |
| Loren Swartzendruber (1949- ) | 1978-1983 |
| John E. Sharp (1951- ) | 1983-1989 |
| Michael King (1954- ) | 1991-1994 |
| James Longacre | 1992-2006 |
| Craig Morton | 1994-1999? |
| Miriam Book | 2000-2011 |
| Dan Graber | 2005-2007 |
| James Lapp | 2008-2011 |
| Joe Hackman | 2008-present |
| Beth Yoder | 2011-present |
| Mary Beth Longacre Benner | 2011-2016 |
Membership at Salford Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1884 | 250 |
| 1915 | 310 |
| 1925 | 290 |
| 1935 | 357 |
| 1945 | 400 |
| 1955 | 442 |
| 1965 | 416 |
| 1975 | 409 |
| 1985 | 414 |
| 1995 | 487 |
| 2005 | 500 |
| 2015 | 450 |
Map
Map:Salford Mennonite Church (Salford, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA)
| Author(s) | John C Wenger |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wenger, John C. "Salford Mennonite Church (Harleysville, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salford_Mennonite_Church_(Harleysville,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=139711.
APA style
Wenger, John C. (1959). Salford Mennonite Church (Harleysville, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salford_Mennonite_Church_(Harleysville,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=139711.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 407. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.