Whitehall Mennonite’s Story
Whitehall Mennonite Church began in 1988, because of the vision God gave a retired pastor, Bob Walters. When he was out sailing, he felt called to plant a Mennonite Church in the Lehigh Valley. Bob’s unrelenting passion and endless love helped create a place for those who were weary from life, giving them a place to belong and to hear the good news of the gospel. Despite support from other Franconia Conference churches, forming this new fellowship was a challenge and several times they almost gave up. They met in a variety of locations until they finally found their home at 4138 Wilson Street in Whitehall, the location of a former Evangelical Congregational Church.
Our Pastor, Rose Bender Cook, joined us in 2010, wanting to continue in that same spirit of hospitality and care for the community. In 2009, the congregation had supported a Karen-speaking refugee family from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). This experience changed the face and enlarged the heart of the congregation. Karen songs, scripture, and greetings are a part of our common life. Each Sunday we gather after worship to eat together. The variety in food reflects the variety in our congregational culture. We often say that this eclectic group of people would not be together if it were not for Jesus.
Born out of a missional experiment, our congregation has always been willing to experiment with new ways of being church together. Ripple Church, our sister congregation in Allentown, was birthed by a former WMC pastor and the two congregations still worship and partner together 4-5 times a year. There are members that are committed to both worshipping communities.
WMC frequently invites young leaders and interns to test out their gifts and join the work. In November of 2019, WMC called Melky Tirtasaputra, a newly-credentialed leader from Nation’s Worship Center (Philadelphia), to be our associate pastor. This is the first time that an Indonesian pastor is leading a non-Indonesian congregation in Mosaic Conference. Melky and his wife, Vina, bring spiritual maturity, hospitality, stability, and an entrepreneurial vision that the congregation needs.
WMC also shares worship space with other congregations, viewing our building as a gift from God that can be used to benefit the community and the broader Church, for the glory of God!
We also continue to work at increasing our intercultural capacity. Ah Paung, one of our leaders says of our unique gathered worship services “We practice here for what is already happening around the throne room: many nations, many languages, many tribes praising the living God.” (Revelation 7:9) Truly we are a community church seeking to be a faithful witness to the presence of God’s Kingdom here and now.