Berea Mennonite Church (Cannelburg, Indiana, USA)
The Berea Mennonite Church, Cannelburg, Indiana, has its roots in the Montgomery Old Order Amish Settlement in Daviess County, Indiana. In 1920, five Old Order Amish families contacted a Mennonite bishop, Jacob K. Bixler, reporting they had withdrawn from the Amish and were conducting a Sunday school. Bishop Jacob K. Bixler and Silas L. Weldy met with these families in December 1920. They also met with Old Order Amish leadership. Bixler and others gave the Amish families two weeks to decide if they wanted to become a Mennonite congregation.
On 27 February 1921, Jacob Bixler and Amos Weldy organized the Berea Mennonite Church. They initially held Sunday school in a schoolhouse but later rented a former United Brethren church. The Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Mission Board purchased the church building in 1925 for $700.
Amos Weldy moved to Daviess County and was ordained as the deacon for the congregation. James Bucher of the Hopewell congregation moved to Daviess County in 1923 and became the first local minister.
The congregation added a basement and anterooms to the original United Brethren building in 1937. It enlarged the sanctuary in 1950.
In 1953, the congregation planted the nearby Providence Mennonite Church in Washington, Indiana, and Tobias Slabaugh became pastor of that congregation.
In 2004, the Berea Mennonite Church withdrew from the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. It subsequently joined the Conservative Mennonite Conference.
Bibliography
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 307.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 212-213.
Additional Information
Address: 216 Main Street, Cannelburg, Indiana
Phone: 812-486-3895
Website: https://www.bereamc.com/
Denominational Affiliations: Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (Until 2004)
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2004)
Rosedale Network of Churches (2004- )
Pastoral Leaders at Berea Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Amos Weldy (1873-1947)(Deacon) | 1921-1945 |
| James Bucher (1887-1982) | 1923-1932 |
| Edd P. Schrock (1899-1967) (Bishop) |
1933-1942 1942-1961 |
| Tobias J. Slabaugh (1915-2009) | 1946-1953 |
| David J. Graber (1910-2009) (Bishop) |
1953-1970 1970- |
| John H. Swartzentruber (1932- ) | 1970-1980? |
| Harold J. Weldy (1940- ) | 1979-1998? |
| Eddie Graber | 1996- |
| Brian Wagler | 2010s?- |
| David Swartz | 2019- |
Berea Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1922 | 23 |
| 1930 | 57 |
| 1940 | 76 |
| 1950 | 179 |
| 1960 | 255 |
| 1970 | 149 |
| 1980 | 150 |
| 1990 | 128 |
| 2000 | 128 |
| 20203 | 263 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Edd P. Schrock. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 276. All rights reserved.
Berea Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church (MC)), located near Montgomery, Daviess County, Indiana, was affiliated with the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. The church was organized 1 March 1921 with 19 members. The membership in 1953 was 224 with many children, young people, and young families. The church was remodeled and enlarged in 1937 and in 1950. The church administrators of the past have been Amos Weldy, deacon, and James Bucher, minister; in 1953 they were Edd P. Shrock, bishop, Tobias Slaubaugh, minister, and Paul F. Weldy, deacon. The members are of Old Order Amish extraction.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | April 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Berea Mennonite Church (Cannelburg, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2024. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Berea_Mennonite_Church_(Cannelburg,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=178678.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (April 2024). Berea Mennonite Church (Cannelburg, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Berea_Mennonite_Church_(Cannelburg,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=178678.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.