Pigeon Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church) was or­ganized in 1894 by Bishop Daniel Wismer of Berlin, Ontario. Samuel S. Bowman was sent by the Ontario Mennonite Conference in 1897 as the first minister of the congregation. The first meetinghouse was built in 1897 in Berne, one mile north of Pigeon. Berne was then the largest settlement. In 1897 Peter Ropp was ordained minister. Other ministers who were ordained and served here were Alfred Weidman 1917-24, S. J. Miller 1926-43, and Sherman Maust 1934-44. In 1916 the Berne congregation was trans­ferred from the Ontario Conference to the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference and Menno Esch, of Fairview, Michigan, was appointed bishop. The present meetinghouse was built in 1934 on a new site in Pigeon. In 1957 the membership was 101, with Donald King as minister and bishop.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 179. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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