Church guide

While our bicentennial was a success, you can still see various items and visions on exhibit at Slate Hill Mennonite Church. We display items and information in our Connections Cabinet in the main entry way. Check us out.

Check out the Saturday and Sunday events.

Great presentation today

If you missed Rosalie Hess Roland and Chris Zimmerman's presentation on WHTM TV's Good Day PA, here is a link. Please thank them for their great work on making others aware of our faith and our Bicentennial. http://abc27.com/2016/10/04/midstate-memories-slate-hill-mennonite-church/

Our biggest thank you to Rosalie Hess Roland and Chris ZImmerman, both on the Slate Hill Mennonite Church Bicentennial committee, for their review of the celebratory events this weekend. Bus tours of founding church families on Saturday and special reminders on Sunday from 9:30 a.m. and into the afternoon. Please thank Rosalie and Chris. We think they did a fabulous job. More details here. http://www.slatehillmennonite.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SHMC-Bicentennial.pdf

Bishop Paul Nisly and Slate Hill Trustee Paul Zimmerman were reviewing Nancy Nisly's handy craft presenting a diorama of the 1816 Martin's Meeting House or first church structure of the Slate Hill Mennonite Church. This model will be on view during the Church's Bicentennial weekend Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9. If you haven't yet signed up for the Saturday bus tours, seats are available for the 3 to 5 p.m. tour. Use this link to sign up. https://www.timetosignup.com/chriszimmerman/sheet/62102/ Join us Sunday at 9:30 for a special service and afternoon of reflection. The church model portrays how men sat on one side of the church and women on the other. Church attendees sat on wooden benches. Some remaining benches from later structures will be on display during the Bicentennial.

Hope you can join us.

The Slate Hill Mennonite Church Bicentennial celebration on Sunday, October 9 promises a number of engaging and informative sessions. A song-filled service starts at 9:30 a.m. and includes recognition of past bishops, pastors and leaders. 10:45-11:00 Fellowship and Coffee 11:00-12:00 Hill of the Living Dead: How Our Congregation’s History Makes Us lead by David Weaver-Zercher 12:15-1:30 Fellowship Meal 1:30-3:00 Glimpses into the Past at Slate Hill A. Church Buildings and Connecting Generations led by Caleb Miller B. Women in Leadership including a video featuring Florence Detwiler entitled "Born a “Strong; Remaining Strong" and historical dialogue by Mae Asper and Rosalie Hess Roland C. An overview of our South-East Asian Ministries by Lena Brown and Rathsamy (Rick) Onelangsy 3:15 An informative cemetery tour by Rachel Zimmerman Please share this Facebook post and invite your family and friends to join in this once-in-every-two-hundred-years event!

Thinking of joining an informative bus tour on Saturday, October 8th? Sign up soon. The planners need to know exactly how many buses to reserve. Sign up at Wednesday Night out tonight using the sheets in front of the Nursery or use the website link. https://www.timetosignup.com/chriszimmerman/sheet/62102/ Caleb Miller and Chris Zimmerman, both church members and avid history buffs, will be narrating the tours. They have also spent hours researching the perfect bus routes and narration details. Join us.

Check out these Slate Hill Mennonite Church Bicentennial Celebratory details.

Plan to watch Good Day PA on WHTM TV 27 on Tuesday, October 4. Rosalie Hess Roland and Chris Zimmerman will be talking about all of the celebratory events planned for the Slate Hill Mennonite Church Bicentennial. Events start with information bus tours on Saturday. Sign up sheets will be outside the nursery this Sunday or use this web link to reserve your seats. https://www.timetosignup.com/chriszimmerman/sheet/62102/

Sign up for the narrated bus tours on Saturday, October 8 by using this web link or by signing up on the forms on the bulletin board right outside the nursery. Use this web link https://www.timetosignup.com/chriszimmerman/sheet/62102/ Seats on the busses are limited. The first tour starts at 1 p.m. and the second at 3 p.m. The tours will provide information about the congregation's history provided by church memers Caleb Miller and Chris Zimmerman.

Increased demand for copies of Joseph M. Hess's historic writings about the founding and growth of Slate Hill Mennonite Church has resulted in a new printing of the 1991 printing of "Harvest on the Hill." Hopes are to have copies available for the October 8/9 Bicentennial celebration. Please check back here for updates on the availability. www.slatehillcmennonite.org.

From the Introduction of Joseph M. Hess's "Harvest on the Hill" book published in 1991, "The Mennonite presence in eastern Cumberland County had its roots in 1791 with the arrival of John Eberly. John Eberly moved from Lancaster County and settled on a farm about seven miles west of the Susquehanna River along the main road leading from Harrisburg to Carlisle. During the next two decades other Mennonite families moved from Lancaster County, so that by 1816 early records show there were a number of families in this new area. As the settlers moved into this area, a congregation was organized and services were held in their homes. They were led by ministers who visited from Lancaster County, or if none of these were available, lay members conducted the meetings. In 1816 a church building was constructed and the new congregation was known as 'Martins'. Thus the roots of the establishment of a mennonite church in the Slate Hill area began with the first Eberlys migrating from Lancaster County in 1791." Join us for celebrations Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9. More details are on www.slatehillmennonite.org/bicentennial

Historic Mennonite Congregation Invites Community to Bicentennial Celebratory Events Early Swiss and German families seek farmland and religious freedom. Members of the Slate Hill Mennonite Church, in Camp Hill, are inviting the community to celebratory events on Saturday, October 8th and Sunday, October 9th reflecting on their founding and growth in the region over the last 200 years. Around 1710, early Mennonite settlers from Switzerland and Germany made their way to Lancaster County, looking for places to farm the land and to practice their faith without fear of persecution. In subsequent decades, some of these Mennonite families migrated further west to places such as the site of today’s Slate Hill Mennonite Church in Camp Hill, Cumberland County. To celebrate the courage and faithfulness of the first Mennonites in Cumberland County, members of Slate Hill Mennonite invite the community to honor the establishment of their first church structure in 1816. The structure was called a meeting house and was located on the crest of Slate Hill Road in Camp Hill. Previously the church had met in the home of the local Eberly family starting in 1791. The first church structure was removed when the current cemetery was developed. A new structure, now the Fellowship Hall, was occupied in 1876. Celebratory events start on Saturday, October 8 and include: Saturday, October 8: The afternoon (1 to 3 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.) will feature bus trips into the congregation’s history with church members Caleb Miller and Chris Zimmerman narrating. Attendees will view the homes of our earliest congregation members, and other sites that played a role in the congregation’s development including the house in Lisburn where members met before the construction of the meetinghouse, then will proceed to Churchtown and Erb's Mennonite Churches. Sunday, October 9 at 9:30 am: Special worship service at Slate Hill with Paul Nisly (a previous Bishop for the Slate Hill Mennonite congregation and professor at Messiah College) preaching, and recognition of former pastors and ministers. In the early days of the church’s development, preachers were chosen by “lot” and often volunteered their service. Sunday, October 9 at 11 am: David Weaver-Zercher, Messiah College professor David Weaver-Zercher, author of numerous books on Mennonite and Amish life, will present a special Sunday School class exploring the early Anabaptist roots in Cumberland County and other interesting historical anecdotes. Sunday, October 9 at 12 pm: Fellowship potluck luncheon open to the public at the church. Sunday, October 9, 1:30 to 3 p.m. will consist of an Open House including: • Ancestry exploration of the congregation’s founding families and today’s descendents • How Mennonite women played and continue to play important leadership roles in the church • The founding and continuing connection of the Southeast Asia Ministry hosted at Slate Hill Mennonite