Broad Street Mennonite Church (Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA)
The Broad Street Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Virginia emerged from work begun among the African American people of Harrisonburg by the Young People's Christian Association of Eastern Mennonite College in 1937. A rented building on East Gay Street served as a center for this work until 1945 when a church was built on Broad Street. The first superintendent was Ernest Swartzentruber. He was followed by Ralph M. Shank, the pastor of the congregation in 1953. There are 17 members with an average Sunday-school attendance of 70.
In 2003 the congregation lost its membership in the Virginia Mennonite Conference because it hosted a same-sex commitment ceremony in early 2002. The membership at that time was 18. In 2009 there was an average attendance of 15.
Bibliography
Preheim, Rich. "Virginia Congregation Loses Membership." The Mennonite (18 February 2003).
Additional Information
Address: 481 Broad Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 433. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
MLA style: Brunk, Harry A. and Sam Steiner. "Broad Street Mennonite Church (Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 2009. Web. 19 May 2013. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B759.html.
APA style: Brunk, Harry A. and Sam Steiner. (2009). Broad Street Mennonite Church (Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 May 2013, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B759.html.
