On a single block of West Orange Street in the heart of downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a converted ballet studio houses Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster (CMCL), a Mennonite Church USA congregation whose reputation has long stretched beyond its city. Founded as an urban church plant in 1986, CMCL gathers roughly 450 people around a worship life shaped by scripture, music, visual art, and a quiet insistence that everyone has a place at the table. The congregation is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA and has built its identity on three intertwined commitments: radical welcome, creative expression, and the work of peace and justice in the city around it.
From the Pink Flamingo to a Downtown Haven
The story of CMCL begins with an "urban planting" that grew out of Akron Mennonite Church. In 1984, the Lancaster Church Planting Fellowship began meeting in space borrowed from the Lancaster Opera Workshop. Two years later, in January of 1986, fifty-nine charter members signed the first church covenant. Soon after, the new congregation moved into its permanent home at 328 West Orange Street, a building that had served for twenty-two years as the Theobald School of Ballet. Locals knew the structure affectionately as the "Pink Flamingo," and at the time it was slated for demolition. Public advocacy saved it, and CMCL's adaptive reuse of the building has become a point of pride - an example of historic preservation that also gave the church its worship space, Christian Education wing, and the Parrot Gallery that anchors its arts ministry today.
The church's first pastor, twenty-seven-year-old Vernon Rempel, was hired in 1986 and helped shape a community that embraced the arts and a delight in the unexpected. The colorful wooden parrot that sits in the sanctuary has become a kind of unofficial mascot for that spirit. Today, the building is shared with several support groups, new church plantings, and arts initiatives that make CMCL a hub for more than Sunday worship.
Worship Grounded in the Stories of Jesus
Worship at CMCL is centered on the stories of Jesus, interpreted through an inclusive and compassionate reading of scripture and woven into the rhythms of the Christian lectionary while still rooted in Mennonite heritage. Each Sunday at 9:30 a.m., the congregation gathers for a service that Congregational Care Pastor Susan Gascho-Cooke describes as a place to ask questions, interpret scripture and life together, feed the soul, and inspire choices in the world. Zoom access is offered for those who cannot attend in person.
The service is shaped by an imaginative openness that is rare in mainline Mennonite life. Music moves easily between a capella hymns and pieces performed by members of the congregation, drawing on classical piano, acoustic guitar, jazz, and bluegrass. The inspired writing of theologians and poets often finds its way into prayer, and visual art regularly anchors the service's focus in ways words alone cannot.
Anointing is offered during regular communion services, and members renew their covenant together once a year. The Covenant that members sign lists commitments including participating in Sunday worship and Christian education, supporting small groups, practicing peacemaking and nonviolence, welcoming visitors, exercising compassionate stewardship, and being a sign of God's salvation in their daily lives.
A Sanctuary Hung with Art
Visual art is not an add-on at CMCL; it is central to the congregation's identity. For more than thirty years, the church has celebrated the visual, musical, and literary arts as a vital gift. Pastor Vern Rempel once called the arts "the angel of CMCL," and that conviction has carried forward in everything from seasonal worship environments to a community gallery.
The church's unadorned worship space doubles as a canvas. Each season, a team of creatives builds a thematically appropriate display. Past installations have ranged from a simple and peaceful arrangement to a bamboo sukkah, a giant spinning kaleidoscope, large-scale charcoal drawings, and a contemporary Stations of the Cross called "Jesus' Labyrinth Journey." Some environments are comforting and familiar; others are deliberately surprising and stretching.
The Parrot Gallery, which opened in 2009 and takes its name from the wooden parrot in the sanctuary, features rotating two-month-long exhibits by CMCL artists. First Friday receptions, often accompanied by live music, open the gallery to the wider Lancaster arts scene. Over thirty-five artists from the congregation have shown their work since the gallery's founding, and the space has become a meaningful way for emerging and established artists to share personal stories. The gallery is open during downtown Lancaster First Fridays and by appointment through the church office.
Christian Education for All Ages
Christian Education at CMCL begins at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, immediately following worship, and runs until about 11:50 a.m. during the school year. Each class for children and youth is led by two CMCL Approved Adults with all state-mandated clearances, and the program follows the academic calendar from September through May.
The Littles and Sprouts classes for ages two through five use a gentle rhythm of play, circle time, music, story, snack, craft, and more play, helping young children feel known and deeply loved. Grades one through four engage with the biblical story through creative expression - art, drama, music, and storytelling - and are invited to consider how we are all God's children. Junior Youth in grades five through eight connect biblical teaching to their growing awareness of self and world, building peer relationships rooted in acceptance and respect. Senior Youth in grades nine through twelve gather for a time of honest conversation about how faith and values are formed, with topics ranging from relationships and healthy sexuality to social justice and advocacy. Senior Youth also participate in fall and spring retreats and in summer trips that alternate between service projects and the MCUSA Convention.
Adult Christian Education runs in the same 11:00 a.m. hour and is shaped by topics generated from within the congregation. Past sessions have explored parenting, eco-responsibility, practicing peace and justice, and what it means to be a welcoming congregation for the LGBT community.
Child care for infants through age four is available in "The Fishbowl," a comfortable room on the lower level of the Christian Education wing, staffed each week by Approved Adult volunteers.
An Affirming Stance and a Commitment to Openness
CMCL has long been known as an affirming congregation. Its public statement on LGBTQ inclusion reads in part: "All persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are equally eligible for membership, baptism, marriage, volunteer leadership, employment and pastoral ministry." The congregation is a member of the Supportive Communities Network and laments the history of the institutional church in condemning and excluding LGBTQ people. The church publicly affirms this commitment as part of its identity and welcomes LGBTQ participation at every level of congregational life.
This welcome extends to other forms of diversity. Core Values include a commitment to speaking and listening across lines of difference, embracing diversity of sexual orientation at every level of congregational participation, and striving to build a racially and economically diverse faith community. A Dismantling Racism sub-committee of the Peace and Justice Committee carries this work forward in specific, ongoing ways.
Peace, Justice, and the Work of the Neighborhood
The Peace and Justice Committee is one of the busiest ministries in the church. The committee initiates and manages outreach, raises awareness of global and local justice issues, and allocates financial grants to local agencies and to "SEND" (Sharing Enthusiastically Near and Distant) funds for church growth projects outside CMCL.
Recent local outreach has included refugee resettlement support, serving community meals, providing volunteers to the winter homeless shelter, and partnering with Bridge of Hope, an organization that walks with families at risk of homelessness toward long-term stability. CMCL also supports the Lancaster County Council of Churches, contributing financially to its food and clothing banks, winter homeless shelter, and transportation assistance, and joining the annual Lenten Lunch series through the LCCC Northwest Clergy cluster.
On the fourth Saturday of every month, CMCL serves breakfast at St. John's Episcopal Church on West Chestnut Street. The church hosts a year-round canned and dry food drive, with donations going to the Lancaster County Food Hub and Crispus Attucks. A fall coat drive collects new or gently used coats for elementary school children at Fulton School. The congregation also channels financial support to local agencies through an Agency Support Grant Program, providing up to $500 per year to nominated organizations.
MOOS: Mornings on Orange Street
One of CMCL's signature outreach efforts is Mornings on Orange Street, better known as MOOS. A self-supporting nonprofit enrichment program jointly sponsored by Covenant United Methodist Church and Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, MOOS provides a safe, supervised place for students from Robert Fulton Elementary School in the hours before the school day begins.
Children arrive between 6:45 and 7:30 a.m. and are greeted by volunteers from the two sponsoring congregations, with a part-time paid staff person overseeing the program. After settling in with activities that might include bingo, puzzles, arts and crafts, or making fresh-squeezed orange juice with an old-fashioned juicer, the children are escorted by volunteers to Fulton Elementary, half a block away, in time for the opening of the school day. MOOS contributes to the sense of self-respect, ability to build relationships, and quality of life of children in the surrounding neighborhood.
Small Groups, Pastoral Care, and Connection
Small groups are at the heart of how members and attenders build deeper friendships. Groups of six to twelve people meet once or twice a month for meals, shared concerns, study, or activities shaped by the group's composition. The Small Group Committee helps newcomers find a group that fits.
Pastoral care is also woven through many layers of congregational life. Clergy and four to five recognized elders make up the Pastoral Team, which oversees care-giving ministries and takes primary responsibility for crisis care, hospital visits, child dedications, baptisms, weddings, and funerals. A prayer shawl ministry offers tangible comfort to those in need of healing or who have suffered losses. Meals are provided to new parents and those recovering from hospital stays. Pastoral care extends through the ordinary moments of Sunday morning, where passing conversations, fellowship meals, game nights, and concerts can become mutually supportive moments for individuals.
Becoming a member at CMCL is neither complicated nor arduous. The Pastoral Team hosts new member dinners throughout the year, providing an informal setting for questions and introductions. New members are paired with a sponsor in the congregation and is offered to them during a brief portion of a Sunday worship service.
Retreats and Annual Rhythms
CMCL marks the church year with a rich calendar of annual events. The Congregational Retreat takes place in late September at Camp Hebron, offering a relaxed family weekend with planned activities for all ages. Women's and Men's Retreats, casual weekends of respite, are held in March or April, often at Charter Hall on the Chesapeake Bay. Annual celebrations during the liturgical year include an Evening of Remembrance on a late-October Sunday near All Saints Day, a contemplative Solstice Service on December 21, Christmas Eve worship with singing and a story for the children, Ash Wednesday with the imposition of ashes, a Maundy Thursday service with simple meal, communion, and the optional ritual of foot washing, a reflective Good Friday observance, and Jazz Sunday on the last Sunday before Lent. On Pentecost Sunday, the congregation holds a Parrot Pinning ceremony to recognize members who have celebrated their fiftieth birthday in the past year.
Children and youth mark milestones woven into the worship life of the congregation. Infants receive a Parent/Child Blessing during their first year of life. First graders receive an illustrated book of Bible stories with verses chosen by family and close adults. Fourth graders receive a framed print reminding them that "You Are Known and Loved By God." Eighth graders receive a Bible from CMCL, presented by a mentor or adult of their choosing. High school seniors receive a copy of the Hymnal: Worship Book, from which CMCL does most of its hymn singing.
Adult Community, Men's and Women's Groups
Two long-standing fellowship groups offer their own rhythms. CMCL men gather about once a month for faith discussions, book reviews, wine tastings, bike excursions, and other recreation, with an annual Chesapeake Bay retreat in the spring. CMCL women meet once a month for wildflower walks, winter hikes, book sharing, craft activities, and holiday celebrations, with a long tradition of a Chesapeake Bay weekend retreat. The women's group also packs "care packages" to send to CMCL college students.
Leadership and Staff
The congregation is led by a Pastoral Team and a wide web of committees and small groups. Susan Gascho-Cooke serves as Congregational Care Pastor. Nathan Grieser is Director of Church Administration, having joined the staff in May 2026 after years of nonprofit leadership with The Shalom Project and RegenAll. Dan Laubach serves as Interim Director of Youth Ministries, bringing experience from Bethany Birches Camp in Plymouth, Vermont, and a background in biblical studies and music education. Meredith Fisher directs children's ministries, drawing on years as a middle school teacher and homeschool educator. Hope Sholly serves as Office Coordinator. Ron Zook, Judy Zook, and Amanda Stoltzfus round out the Pastoral Team alongside Pastor Gascho-Cooke. The church is also in the process of hiring an Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
The leadership structure at CMCL is built on the assumption that "leadership resides among members of the congregation." Leaders shape the process of decision making so that all members can contribute their ideas, and there is a persistent call to seek God's voice in prayer, scripture study, reflection on tradition and experience, and mutual conversation.
The Building, the Gallery, and the Block
From its adaptive reuse of the Pink Flamingo to its ongoing role as a hub for neighborhood groups, CMCL's building is part of its ministry. The church makes its facilities available to faith-based and nonprofit organizations for regular meeting space, ranging from addiction recovery groups to new church developments. Local activists and musicians also use the building for gatherings and music lessons.
For first-time visitors, the easiest entry point is Sunday morning. Worship is at 9:30 a.m. with Zoom access available on request. The church parking lot is on North Concord Street, between the church building and the colorful Grant Street mural. Christian Education for all ages begins at 11:00 a.m., and coffee in the Parrot Gallery follows the worship service. Visitors will find a community shaped by scripture, art, and a deep commitment to welcoming everyone who walks through the door.