Who are we??

We are well-loved children of God.   Sometimes we know that, and sometimes we don’t.  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 Mennonites.  We are members of Lancaster Mennonite Conference (locally), Mennonite Church USA (denominationally), and Mennonite World Conference (globally).   Theologically, we are guided by Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective.

We are about 120 people on the average when we gather.  But if everyone came on the same Sunday, we’d be more like 150.

We are 60-some children under the age of 15.   And most of them are under the age of 7!   Our worship services are pretty noisy some of the time.  We are committed to nurturing children in ways that honor their uniqueness, but challenge them to follow Jesus and learn how to be part of a community.

We are nearly 75 years old.  The church was founded near Dillerville Rd. on the north edge of Lancaster in 1934, where it was named North End Mennonite Church .  The congregation moved to our current location in the Blossom Hill sub-division in 1972, and became Blossom Hill Mennonite Church in the early 90s. 

We do many things during the week.  We are teachers, child-care workers, business people, students, church agency workers, nurses, 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 welcome the participation and voices of all, regardless of marital status.

We have lived in many places.   Many of our members have spent time living in other countries as missionaries or relief workers. We currently have 1 member who is living and working in Tanzania under the Eastern Mennonite Missions, and 1 member who is serving in Cambodia under Mennonite Central Committee.   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 accapella, 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 2^nd 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 2 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 can 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 are heating and cooling our new building with a geo-thermal system.  One member helped us make rain barrels to collect rain water at our homes for watering plants and gardens.  Some parents use cloth diapers for babies -- others drive hybrid cars – most of us recycle.

We are grateful for our newly renovated and expanded building.  We held a ground-breaking (or mud moving, as was actually the case) ceremony on November 12, 2006, and our dedication service was held on December 9, 2007.   This project has been a leap of faith for us, but we have sensed God’s leading many times in the process of discernment. 

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 be God’s kingdom on earth.