The
Mennonite Heritage Center tells the story of
Mennonite faith and life in southeastern
Pennsylvania. Its architecture, with lines
modeling the simplicity of traditional
Pennsylvania Mennonite meetinghouses, points
towards the spiritual center of Mennonite life.
The concept was that "church" was
congregation, not the building in which they
"met." The building also suggests rural
images of mill, barn and house, while exhibits
show the movement toward a more urban society,
giving contemporary expression to a deep-rooted
heritage.
Begun in 1525 in Switzerland, the "Anabaptist"
fellowship was later named for a leader, Menno
Simons, from the Netherlands. In 1683, the first
Mennonite couple helped to settle the village of
Germantown near Philadelphia, the oldest
continuing Mennonite community in the New World.
The story of local Mennonites and their neighbors
is introduced through an interpretive video
presented in a room designed to resemble an early
meetinghouse.
The Mennonite Heritage Center houses a permanent
exhibit "Work and Hope," fraktur and
changing exhibits, an historical library and
archives, and a gift shop.
Staff Sarah Wolfgang Heffner, Director
heffners@mhep.org
Joel D. Alderfer, Librarian/Curator
alderferjoel@mhep.org
K. Eric Clymer, Custodian
Janice Q. Godshall, Volunteer/Museum
Shop
Coordinator
godshallj@mhep.org
Daniel W. Lapp, Director of Development
lappd@mhep.org
Forrest L. Moyer, Project
Archivist
moyerf@mhep.org
Rose A. Moyer, Assistant Director
moyerr@mhep.org
Board of Trustees
Christopher Detweiler,
President
John L. Ruth, Vice President
J. Oliver Gingrich, Secretary
Jeffrey L. Godshall,
Treasurer
Kathy Q. Bauman
H. Bud Gross
S. Duane Kauffman
Andrew S. Lapp
Donald L. Nice
Trustee Emeriti
Ray
K. Hacker
Mary Jane Lederach Hershey
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