View source for Pinto Mennonite Church (Pinto, Maryland, USA)

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Pinto Mennonite Church ([[Mennonite Church (MC)|Mennonite Church]]), located in Pinto, [[Allegany County (Maryland, USA)|Allegany County]], Maryland, a member of the [[Allegheny Mennonite Conference (Mennonite Church USA)|Allegheny Mennonite Conference]] (formerly Southwestern Pennsylvania), was organized in 1927 with a membership of 46. D. H. Bender was the first Mennonite minister to preach in that community, about 1915. Ed Miller and Milton B. Miller of Springs, Pennsylvania served as ministers in the 1920s. Chester M. Helmick was ordained as minister in 1929, and the following year Robert P. Dayton was ordained to the ministry. The church building, a cement block structure that seats 250, was built in 1927. In the present (1957) membership of 100 there are representatives of ten denominations who have been received into fellowship. The ministers in 1956 were A. Lehman Longenecker and Chester M. Helmick. 

In 2015 the Pinto congregation left the Allegheny Conference and joined the [[LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches|Lancaster Mennonite Conference]]. This move was part of a larger realignment of Mennonite congregations formerly part of [[Mennonite Church USA]]. These congregations were unhappy with Mennonite Church USA's failure to take stronger disciplinary actions against area conferences and congregations who expressed openness to inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. The Lancaster Mennonite Conference took action in 2015 to withdraw from Mennonite Church USA by the end of 2017, and became an attractive alternative for these congregations.
= Bibliography =
"'Salt and Light': Fall Faith and Life Gathering." ''A M C News'' September-December 2015. Web. 29 May 2017. http://www.alleghenymennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/September-December-2015.pdf.

= Additional Information =
'''Address''': 13822 Pinto Road Southwest, Cumberland, MD 21502

'''Phone''': 301-729-2714

'''Website''': http://www.pintochurch.org/

'''Denominational Affiliations''': [https://www.lancasterconference.org/ Lancaster Mennonite Conference]

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[[Category:Churches]]
[[Category:Allegheny Mennonite Conference Congregations‏‎]]
[[Category:LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches Congregations]]
[[Category:Mennonite Church USA Congregations]]
[[Category:Maryland Congregations]]
[[Category:United States Congregations]]