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THE HISTORY
OF MELLINGERS CHURCH The history of Mellingers Evangelical Lutheran Church began in 1861 with the construction of the Mellingers Meetinghouse, now the Valley View Mennonite Church. The structure was built on land donated by Henry Eberly. All denominations that helped in construction were allowed to use the building, but no one congregation could meet there on Sundays more often than any of the other denominations. The original four congregations that met in this building were the Dunkards, Mennonites, German Reformed and Lutherans. The Lutheran congregation was organized by the Reverend Michael M. Haerpel, who preached his inaugural sermon on December 22, 1861. In May of 1922, it was decided to remodel and install electric lights in the church. The Sunday School was organized in January of 1938. Ten years later, in 1948, Vacation Bible School was begun at Mellingers. Mellingers Lutheran Church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). This denomination was formed in January of 1988 by the merger of the American Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church in America, and the Evangelical Lutheran Churches. The ELCA has 5,376,000 members, divided up into 11.022 congregations served by 16,280 pastors. Its headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois and the Reverend H. George Anderson is the Bishop. Mellingers Lutheran congregation is one of 281 congregations of the Lower Susquehanna Synod. This synod brings congregations together from the Harrisburg, Carlisle, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York, Pennsylvania areas. Its headquarters is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Reverend Carol Hendrix is the Bishop. Mellingers is a member of the Cocalico Ministerium, which is an ecumenical group of congregations that cooperate in ministering to the Adamstown, Denver and Reamstown, Pennsylvania areas. Mellingers congregation presently has 700 baptized members. Mellingers can be seen up on the hill from many places throughout the area. There is a joke that while the church is easy to see, there is no straight road to get here, as the roads wind around the farms. Looking from the hill, you can see new homes being built next to houses that have been here for hundreds of years. The future of all of Lancaster County is growth. Hopefully, the growth will be planned and not reckless. Growth, however, is certain. Mellingers is changing. More and more people are coming into the area and winding their way up the hill to the church they can see. New people and different values present a challenge as well as a reward for those already here. The people of Mellingers are warm, down-to-earth and loving. This has helped the congregation adjust to new faces and to the return of some known faces. Mellingers welcomes to you to come to church here and to get involved as much as you desire in the life of the church. There are many rich and beautiful traditions and values at Mellingers that should always be a part of our Christian identity. But there is also a powerful and exciting wind in the air. The Spirit of God is bringing many new and wonderful souls to our doors and we are blessed by that presence. It is a very good time to be a part of Mellingers Evangelical Lutheran Church. The future seems certain to be a time of increased activity and energy in Christ. We pray that you will join in this excitement.
1868 - 1870: Rev. Michael M. Haerpel
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