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The Rochester Area Mennonite Fellowship, or RAMF, is a gathering of people inspired by the Mennonite vision in Rochester, New York. Almost two dozen households meet weekly for worship, and many of the adults get together regularly in homes for small group study. We have no pastor or paid staff. We are a member congregation of the New York Mennonite Conference which is itself a member conference of Mennonite Church USA. |
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Everyone is welcome to come to RAMF. Members of the congregation have come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of us were born into Mennonite homes and communities. Many of us grew up in other faith traditions, or with no religious identity at all. We all have been drawn to the Anabaptist ideals of the Mennonite Church and the longstanding tradition of this congregation that the church is a welcoming and supportive family.
If you're unsure about visiting or have other questions, please . Visitors are always welcome anytime, although it's a good idea to look at our calendar or call ahead to make sure our schedule hasn't changed for a particular Sunday. |
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RAMF started in the middle 1970s when a group of believers in the Rochester area with past connections to the Mennonite Church started meeting informally in homes for prayer and study. We wanted to maintain and intensify those Mennonite connections with others of like mind. The group began with no pastor or other staff. (Thus, we called ourselves a fellowship, rather than a church, to make clear we were not structured like the typical Christian congregation.) Over the years as we have grown we have continued our tradition of sharing leadership. We take seriously the idea that the church is a priesthood of believers, and have confidence that God has given us the gifts we need to be a faithful, thriving community. We believe we have been successful in providing appropriate leadership, worship, education, and administrative needs from among ourselves for this part of the body of Christ. At the same time, we are very grateful for the many and rich gifts given us by our friends, families, neighbors, and the larger church. Although RAMF's origins are as a house church, a growth spurt in the early 1980s meant we could no longer fit comfortably in a living room or basement. Looking for space to accommodate our increase in numbers, we have gathered for worship at YMCAs, the Harley School in Rochester, and the Friends meetinghouses in the city. A continued expansion in size led us to ponder whether we could afford to have our own church building. Moving forward in faith, we purchased land early in 2003 for a church. With many gifts and a grant from the JoinHands Mennonite Church Building Program, and much donation of labor, we constructed a modest building in a residential neighborhood in Rochester. We moved into our new home on Hillside Avenue (which is pictured above) in April, 2007. |
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We have a formal mission statement: God calls us to be disciples of Jesus Christ, inviting others to join us. As a Christian community in the Anabaptist tradition we offer healing and hope to one another and to our world through worship and the practice of spiritual disciplines, by creating a supportive and welcoming community, and by offering a clear witness for Biblical peace. We seek to encourage one another to be faithful to God’s word, mission and work in the world, as revealed though Jesus Christ, joyfully helping each other hear and heed our own calls to ministry. Though we are a small congregation, we are committed to the way of peace, and contribute to several mission projects.
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