Church Building Plans included Global Church

Salford Mennonite Church recently completed a major remodeling and expansion of its facilities. As part of the plans, the congregation agreed to donate 1% of the campaign goal of $3.3 million toward church buildings for congregations with fewer resources. While there remains a mortgage from the project, the congregation decided it was now time to follow through on their commitment. This past January, $9,000 was sent to their sister church in Mexico City , Dios Con Nosotros, to assist them in developing classrooms for children’s education. At the same time $24,000 was sent to the Mennonite World Conference for its Jubilee Fund available to the churches around the globe that need assistance with worship facilities. Ken Byler, chair of Salford ’s Campaign Committee states, “It has been exciting to see these funds now made available for churches in developing countries.”

On April 13, 2008 , the Salford Church experienced this excitement first hand when Larry Miller, General Secretary of the Mennonite World Conference, along with associate General Secretary, Pakisa Tshimika, and a colleague in communication and marketing, Tom Frank, visited the congregation and formally received the Jubilee gift. Their warm thanks encouraged the congregation and strengthened its connections with the global Anabaptist family. Miriam Book, lead pastor of the congregation, expressed the “wish that other congregations in North America who contemplate building, will join us in sharing their abundant resources with our sisters and brothers around the world.”

The acclaimed author of
Dead Man Walking,
Sister Helen Prejean,

was Salford's guest for

Justice, Mercy, and Hope:

Conversations on the Death Penalty

In the Salford Mennonite Meetinghouse
Saturday, October 11, 7:00 p.m. and
Sunday, October 12, 9:00 a.m.

Download a press release here.
For a printable poster of the event,
click the thumbnail above,
and set your printer's page scaling to
"Fit to Printable Area" or equivalent.

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Honoring a Place in Faith Communities for People with Disabilities and Their Families

Peaceful Living Conference

Was held in the Salford Mennonite Meetinghouse on Saturday, September 13, 2008, 7:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Pastors’ Breakfast, 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Workshops

Download a digital brochure here .

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Pastoral Installation

Miriam F. Book and James M. Lapp were installed as pastors at Salford Mennonite Church on March 30, 2008. Miriam will serve as Lead Pastor and James as Preaching Pastor.

(To view a photo album of this event, click here, and navigate to "March 30, 2008 Service of Pastoral Installation and Fellowship Meal.")

Regular attendees and guests alike filled the sanctuary for the special service of installation. Family of Miriam and James (better known to friends as “Mim and Jim”) provided the offertory music; Donella Clemens, Franconia Conference Minister, led in the pastoral commitments; and Salford members as well as visiting friends of Mim and Jim offered words of blessing. Anointing with oil was administered by Richard and Ruth Weaver, spiritual directors from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and Salford ’s Adult and Children Choirs provided additional music.

Guest preachers for the service were Bob and Enid Schloneger, a retired husband-and-wife pastoral team, who most recently served the Blooming Glen congregation, 1999-2007. They now reside in Smithville, Ohio.

Born in Lancaster County, Mim came to Salford in 2000 and has served as Associate Pastor for the 8 years leading up to this transition into the role of Lead Pastor. She was ordained in 1992 at the Belmont Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Indiana. She serves on the boards of Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, and of Dock Woods Community in Lansdale. Mim is a graduate of Eastern University, with pastoral training at London Bible College (E

ngland),

and the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. She worked in overseas missions for eleven years with Eastern Mennonite Missions.

This will not be the first time Mim and Jim are working together; both served many years as executive staff for the Mennonite Church General Board. They married in 2000. Jim is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite College, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, with a D. Min. from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. He was ordained in 1963 and served most recently for eleven years as Conference Pastor for the Franconia Mennonite Conference. His role at Salford will be part time focused primarily on preaching.

Responding to the service of installation, Mim voiced her desire to lead the congregation in fulfilling the purposes of God for the church, and following the example of Jesus, to be a person of love. Jim expressed his wish to help the congregation exemplify the purpose, presence and power of God in its mission in the world. Both are committed to leading the Salford congregation to live out its vision of being “a joyful, learning community eager to live and share the peaceable way of Jesus.”