Does the "Charity Church" really exist anymore?

[Josh]

Yes, a Reformed Mennonite bishop.

I have never personally met any of their group. They used to meet in Ohio in Marshallville but eventually closed down (and tore the meetinghouse down, as they wouldn’t want the building sold and possibly used for untrue-church services).

That is what intrigues me about John Holdeman - Swiss brethren background and he shifted towards Dutch Mennonite views which in the end fueled the growth in his group.

Herren Holdeman, Stauffer, and Herr, all of the Christian name John, all seemed to mostly independently come up with the exact same ideas. Messrs Herr and Stauffer retained a Swiss approach and to this day seem to be mostly ethnically Swiss. Mr Holdeman somehow became “multiethnic”. My opinion is this was due to him believing so strongly that the early Anabaptist writers were an authority to be followed, and at the time the only books readily available were Dutch Anabaptist writings, translated into German.

Although there are no Holdemans in my area, they are viewed favorably on account of their outreach. And the ones I relate to are scientific and don't hold to conspiracy theories which I appreciate.

Unfortunately obsession with conspiracy theories like “Q” is a reason people actually leave our church and this was the first agenda item for discussion at last year’s conference: excessive emotional attachment to political alignments or factions and involvement therein. Of course, people are free to believe whatever political opinions they want; when it dominates their discussions and starts to break apart relationships then it becomes a spiritual problem.

[Josh]

ABC 123, thanks for that analysis. That was exactly what I observed of Charity starting in 2004. I knew some people who kept taking trips to Ephrata because of these amazing people there called Denny and Mose. At the time I was trying to figure out why someone had the same name as a diner!

Much of criticism of Charity is simply reflecting their own criticism back into them.

joshuabgood, thanks for that “history” of Stutzman’s church attendance. I have never been able to get a straight answer before of just where he attends and is (or isn’t) a member. When I asked once, I was informed that membership doesn’t matter and I needed to accept anyone as obviously anointed by God who has such a powerful ministry, and furthermore that where someone attends church is a private matter that a “public” figure is allowed to keep confidential.

[Marylander]

Yes, a Reformed Mennonite bishop.

I have never personally met any of their group. They used to meet in Ohio in Marshallville but eventually closed down (and tire the meetinghouse down, as they wouldn’t want the building sold and possibly used for untrue-church services).

I am not familiar with Ohio but I thought there was an active congregation in Bluffton.

And as you stated they will demolish their meetinghouses, the exception being one in Waynesboro, PA that is now an industrial museum.

An older bishop gave me bound volumes from the early 1900's of their church periodical called "Good Tidings" and I enjoy reading the articles. Use it as a devotional book.

[ohio jones]

Yes, a Reformed Mennonite bishop.

I have never personally met any of their group. They used to meet in Ohio in Marshallville but eventually closed down (and tire the meetinghouse down, as they wouldn’t want the building sold and possibly used for untrue-church services).

I am not familiar with Ohio but I thought there was an active congregation in Bluffton.

And as you stated they will demolish their meetinghouses, the exception being one in Waynesboro, PA that is now an industrial museum.

There's another demolition exception near Archbold, OH; the building was recently transferred to a local historical society.

[Josh]

And as you stated they will demolish their meetinghouses, the exception being one in Waynesboro, PA that is now an industrial museum.

There's another demolition exception near Archbold, OH; the building was recently transferred to a local historical society.

As I understand it, they keep repeatedly requesting the building to be dismantled (and denied); as long as they are trying to demolish the building, they feel comfortable they are doing the best they can to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands for untrue worship services. (Perhaps an industrial museum is a place of worship for the State?)

Some acquaintances of mine that a few of you may know (folks from the Little Bear Creek Common Brethren, also known as "The Bayers") once snuck into a long-abandoned Reformed Mennonite meetinghouse with an accomplice who, if memory serves, was Peter Hoover. They found a number of old tracts, printed perhaps about the 1920s?, and felt comfortable taking them, as they were confident the Reformed Mennonites would want their pamphlets to reach a broader audience rather than sit forgotten in a shelf somewhere. I believe that is the meetinghouse that is now a museum, but am not sure.

[Ken]

And as you stated they will demolish their meetinghouses, the exception being one in Waynesboro, PA that is now an industrial museum.

There's another demolition exception near Archbold, OH; the building was recently transferred to a local historical society.

As I understand it, they keep repeatedly requesting the building to be dismantled (and denied); as long as they are trying to demolish the building, they feel comfortable they are doing the best they can to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands for untrue worship services. (Perhaps an industrial museum is a place of worship for the State?)

Some acquaintances of mine that a few of you may know (folks from the Little Bear Creek Common Brethren, also known as "The Bayers") once snuck into a long-abandoned Reformed Mennonite meetinghouse with an accomplice who, if memory serves, was Peter Hoover. They found a number of old tracts, printed perhaps about the 1920s?, and felt comfortable taking them, as they were confident the Reformed Mennonites would want their pamphlets to reach a broader audience rather than sit forgotten in a shelf somewhere. I believe that is the meetinghouse that is now a museum, but am not sure.

Is there some theological reason why CA churches don't want their buildings re-used? I mean Biblically speaking I would think the church is the people and not the building.

What about having the building disassembled and having the lumber re-used?

Around here there are lots of old Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc. churches that have been reused for different purposes once the congregation that built them 100+ years ago has largely faded away and sold the building.

[Josh]

Is there some theological reason why CA churches don't want their buildings re-used? I mean Biblically speaking I would think the church is the people and not the building.

This is a curiousity that only the Reformed Mennonite branch practices, which is a denomination of less than 1,000 members.

What about having the building disassembled and having the lumber re-used?

I assume that is what actually happened - the lumber has to go somewhere and be disposed of.

Around here there are lots of old Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc. churches that have been reused for different purposes once the congregation that built them 100+ years ago has largely faded away and sold the building.

My own church sold a building that is now a private residence, which must be rather bizarre for the owners. There have been very few churches in denomination that have stopped meeting; this particular one was an interesting situation as the membership was composed almost entirely of seekers and also had a large fraction of adopted children amongst the ethnic members. Eventually, most people migrated away and eventually the decision was made to close and sell the property.

A few miles from where I live, there is a former conservative holiness (Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist or whatever) church that got auctioned off and is now a private residence. They use the big screen on the wall that used to be used to project the words for the songs to watch TV/movies on now. Before they took down the church sign, they put a huge Trump banner overtop of it.

[Soloist]

My grandmother bought a church. Years back in Mississippi, it was probably one of my favorite houses that she owned. Her Mississippi beach house was cooler.
Supposedly she owned another church as well but I never saw it.

[mike]

Is there some theological reason why CA churches don't want their buildings re-used? I mean Biblically speaking I would think the church is the people and not the building.

What about having the building disassembled and having the lumber re-used?

Around here there are lots of old Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc. churches that have been reused for different purposes once the congregation that built them 100+ years ago has largely faded away and sold the building.

I never heard of a CA church that didn't want its building to be reused for another purpose. I know that some of the local Wesleyan Holiness churches will not eat in a church building, thus they usually have separate buildings in the area for meals and events.

[Josh]

I never heard of a CA church that didn't want its building to be reused for another purpose.

I've never heard of it outside of Reformed Mennonites, who take the "One True Church" thing a little too far. (We can admire their zeal, however.)

I know that some of the local Wesleyan Holiness churches will not eat in a church building, thus they usually have separate buildings in the area for meals and events.

Non-institutional Church of Christ (which prefers to call itself church of Christ) does the same thing[*], avoiding having kitchens or eating areas at all, due to the Bible verses about "Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?" One of their other quirks is that if a seeker wants to discuss spiritual matters, they feel it is best to do so in the church building rather that in other places (particularly NOT in a restaurant, coffee shop, etc.).

[*] With some hypothetical exceptions, such as if the church elders decide to feed widows inside the church building, or a hired contractor hired to work on the church building wants to take a lunch break and eat inside.