Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, PA)
July 30, 2005
On the Sunnyside of faith
LORI VAN INGEN One summer morning in 1929, David S. High was on his regular milk delivery run from his Willow Street-area farm to the dairy in Lancaster. He saw a number of children near Sunnyside and stopped to talk with them, asking them about their Sunday school opportunities. It turned out there were no Sunday schools near by, so High decided to do something about it.
He rounded up several members from his congregation, Willow Street Mennonite, as well as several from Strasburg Mennonite, to look for property to start a mission in Sunnyside. The committee found a vacant building in the Sunnyside area that previously had been used as a dance hall. To get the building ready for church services, they removed the bar from the former dance hall.
Sunnyside Mennonite Church, a member of Lancaster Conference of Mennonite Church USA, held its first service on Jan. 12, 1930, with 71 people from the community attending. Because the hall was very cold in the winters, the new congregation five years later built its current church building at 337 Circle Ave. at a cost of $4,057.16 and 3,400 hours of free labor.
In 1960, the building expanded to include a small kitchen space and classrooms. Restrooms were added and a well drilled in 1966; and a modern kitchen, five classrooms and a nursery were added in 1972. Most recently, in 1996, the congregation added a new sanctuary and renovated the church.
“Now again, there are space concerns,” the Rev. Ira Kurtz said. “We need more classrooms and more sanctuary room” to accommodate 150 to 160 people who regularly attend services, which are a blend of traditional and contemporary styles. There are many young families, with about 40 children under the age 10. It has not yet been decided what the congregation will do about the need for more space for its current members, who come from as far away as New Holland, Bird-in-Hand and Millersville, he said.
The draw for young families, Brian Miller (Associate Pastor) said, is a “sense of community ... (Sunnyside) is a place where you do more than attend worship service. You share life together.” The 36-year-old associate pastor also said, “We are on a journey together, seeking to express our faith holistically...allowing faith to permeate every aspect of our lives.”
Sally Bredeman, the 31-year-old mother of two young children from Brownstown, said her family attends Sunnyside for several reasons. “It fit our tenets of faith, our beliefs. There are a lot of evangelism and mission-type activities, reaching out to people of different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. It’s like what (my husband, Justin) and I grew up with,” Bredeman said. “We also wanted to find a church with a lot of other children since we knew we’d eventually have children.”
Kurtz said older people, including missionaries who have returned from service abroad, are also coming to Sunnyside because it is a smaller congregation where they can be of use. Before a decision is made on how to accommodate the growing membership, the congregation needs to consider the possibility of even more members joining if the proposed development in Sunnyside goes through. In that event, there probably will be 300 more people in the Sunnyside area who will need to be served.
“The community itself has changed over the last 75 years, but the church has been very much a part of the community and has been supportive of the people who live here,” Kurtz said. When the church was started, there were 300 people in the Sunnyside community. By the church’s 50th anniversary, there were half that number. Today, the population census has dropped to about 30 households. “The community has changed and developed — the junkyard has gone out, and a new development may come in. We need more space. How do the two relate to each other in the overall development of the community? What can we contribute?” Kurtz said.
“All communities need a church to learn and grow in faith together. Our purpose is to share our lives in a way to enrich others,” Alma Shultz, deaconess, said. Currently, a couple in the congregation, Darryl and Janice Weaver, hold a gathering on the church grounds every Tuesday evening to “provide a positive environment for the children to hang out, have fun and relate to caring adults,” Shultz said. “We are attempting to be an asset and support to the community’s families.” This year, the congregation also provided the community with garden plots, giving them an opportunity to grow fresh vegetables together. And today at 5 p.m., the congregation will hold its annual church-community chicken barbecue and picnic. “It’s one way to get to know our neighbors and have fun together,” Shultz said. “We value our relationship with our friends at Sunnyside.”
Besides the local community at Sunnyside, the congregation focuses on missions around the world. One member is serving in China, and the congregation also supports missionaries in Hong Kong, Australia and Peru. The congregation also contributes to Arbor Place. In celebration of its 75th anniversary, Sunnyside will present exhibits in its lobby. July’s theme is “Keeping Records,” while August’s is “Music Through the Years,” September’s is “Community Involvement” and October’s is “Highlights of Bishops’ and Pastors’ Years of Service.” The celebration will culminate on Nov. 27 with special services in the morning and evening. David Shenk, grandson of one of the original members, will be speaking. Shenk is from Eastern Mennonite Missions, working with Muslim-Christian dialogue in various parts of the world.