Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2018736 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 79 pages

Customer Reviews

Colonial Germantown Mennonites

Colonial Germantown Mennonites by Leonard Gross and Jan Gleysteen takes the reader back to 1683, when some of the earliest Mennonites settled in Pennsylvania and began a place of worship that today is considered to be the first Mennonite church in the New World. The Mennonites, whose roots go back almost five centuries to the era of the Protestant Reformation in Europe, came to America for religious and economic freedom.
The book reveals the hardships encountered as these German-born pioneers settled in a new place in a completely different land and culture. Yet, in the midst of this complexity the Mennonites upheld their principles of peace and justice in multiple ways. They were intentional about their church's being an open place of worship for peoples from different backgrounds and denominations a multicultural community in Germantown that would transcend nations, culture, and language. They were the first people to sign an antislavery petition in 1668, a thought then considered absurd to much of broader Protestantism. Furthermore, the Germantown Mennonites peacefully interacted with Native Americans and modeled a promising approach to how Christians can live in harmony with one another.
Unique in this book is a section that pictorially paints Germantown in colorful fashion, allowing one to see the places where Colonial-era Mennonite and Brethren building sites still exist. Complete with photographs an map, the book also has a tour guide sections for anyone interested in seeing the historic town within Philadelphia where a community of believers first worshipped corporately in America.
"Simple, substantial, and beautiful." These words from a Lancaster County Mennonite preacher described the Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse, a symbol which serves today as a microcosm of core values for the Mennonite Church. Indeed, in a world today filled with religious fragmentation and cultural conflict, this book offers a realistic vision of what it means to love one's neighbor.