Development of Church Life in the Older Congregations / 215

bulletin of the congregation, appeared a "Prayer for an Arsonist" by Martha Kauffman, member of the congregation. "Lord, be with the arsonist today. Let him meditate on the dangers encountered by the firemen let him see himself. He, too, is Thy child. Did none of us show to him the importance of serving Thee? Forgive us if we are at fault...." One member of the congregation expressed the feelings of many by saying that "our church didn't burn; it was only the building." In the same month the congregation voted once more to restore their place of worship.

The Conestoga Christian Day School, located at Morgantown, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1952, and has an enrollment of 128 pupils with grades from one to ten being offered. It is sponsored by the Board of Trustees of the Conestoga Christian Day School Association of which Harvey Beiler is president. Marvin Musser is principal of the school, which is located by the highway which passes the Conestoga Mennonite Church.

In 1950 members of the Maple Grove and Conestoga churches organized and purchased a farm property near Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, to develop into a summer camp for underprivileged children. The camp was to be used for children "regardless of race, color or creed and shall make every effort to give them a vital Christian experience."

The local members worked together to clear the land, erect buildings, cabins, and recreational facilities. Known as the Tel-Hai Camp, it is host to many city children who each year spend a period of time in the wooded area of the camp and take part in the camp's program of worship and teaching.

On the premises also is the Tel-Hai Rest Home which has been operating since 1956 with a capacity of forty-five beds. It is a convalescent home for aged and infirm persons who need to be cared for in an institution. Its location on the 120-acre farm makes it a quiet and peaceful setting for the aged inmates. The camp serves too as a site for missionary meetings, chorus programs, Bible conferences, and the showing of religious films.

During the first fifty years of the twentieth century an inflential leader in the eastern part of the conference was John S. Mast (1861-1951) of the Conestoga Church at Morgantown. He was ordained in 1894 to the ministry when the German language was still used, though in his later years he changed to English, being