Beemer Mennonite Church (Beemer, Nebraska, USA)
The Plum Creek Amish Mennonite Church began with Amish Mennonite families began migrating to Cuming County, Nebraska, from the Oberlin, Kansas area in 1894. Previously, these families came from Hopedale, Illinois; some Illinois relatives soon joined them.
Bishop Joseph Schlegel organized the Plum Creek congregation in 1895 with 14 charter members. The group met in the Spencer Schoolhouse northwest of Beemer until 1907.
Worship and Sunday school services remained in German until World War I when a shift began to English. Peter Oswald and Joseph Schantz continued to preach in German until their deaths, and a German Sunday school class continued for older members.
The congregation built a simple frame meetinghouse in 1907. It expanded the building by 10 feet in 1911. The congregation built an addition with a basement in 1927 and installed electric lights in 1940. In July 1958, it had a ground-breaking for a new church on the edge of Beemer; at the time of its dedication on 15 March 1959, it changed its name to Beemer Mennonite Church.
The first Young People's Bible meetings began in 1918, and a women's sewing circle began in 1930. Summer Bible school began in 1946.
In 2023 the congregation was part of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Bibliography
Kauffman, Lois. "Sixty-three years at Plum Creek." Gospel Herald 50, no. 27 (2 July 1957): 623, 630.
Yoder, Holly Blosser. The same spirit: History of Iowa-Nebraska Mennonites. Freeman, S.D.: Central Plains Mennonite Conference, 2003: 37, 55.
Additional Information
Address: 327 Sherman St., Beemer, Nebraska 68716
Phone: 402-528-7255
Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064625474609
Denominational Affiliations: Central Plains Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Beemer Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jacob D. "J. D." Birky (1855-1926) (Bishop) |
1895-1902 1902-1921 |
| Joseph H. "J. H." Birky (1850-1927) | 1896-1927 |
| Peter Oswald (1864-1934) | 1901-1934 |
| Joseph Grieser (1824-1911) | 1903-1911 |
| Joseph Schantz (1856-1934) | 1911-1934 |
| Peter O. "P. O." Oswald (1883-1970) | 1925-1970 |
| Jacob W. "J. W." Oswald (1881-1958) | 1927-1940 |
| Samuel "Sam" Oswald (1901-1992) (Bishop) |
1940-1949 1949-1979 |
| Earnest F. Kauffman (1913-2011) | 1973-1984? |
| Ivan E. Troyer (1932-1993) | 1977-1989 |
| Clarence R. Sutter (1921-1998)(Interim) | 1989-1991 |
| Roger Hazen | 1991-1999 |
| Jarvis Hochstedler | 2000?-2004 |
| Gordon Scoville (Interim) | 2004-2005 |
| Lewis W. Miller | 2005- |
Membership at Beemer Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1920 | 80 |
| 1930 | 110 |
| 1940 | 147 |
| 1950 | 125 |
| 1960 | 150 |
| 1970 | 177 |
| 1980 | 175 |
| 1990 | 167 |
| 2000 | 138 |
| 2007 | 144 |
| 2020 | 126 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Samuel Oswald. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 197. All rights reserved.
Plum Creek Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), 2 miles east and 2½ north of Beemer, Cuming County, Nebraska, a member of the Iowa-Nebraska Mennonite Conference, was organized in 1895 with 14 charter members, with Jacob D. Birky the first resident minister, ordained here in 1895. The first meetinghouse was built in 1907 on the present site, and has been twice enlarged.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | March 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Beemer Mennonite Church (Beemer, Nebraska, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2023. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Beemer_Mennonite_Church_(Beemer,_Nebraska,_USA)&oldid=175311.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2023). Beemer Mennonite Church (Beemer, Nebraska, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Beemer_Mennonite_Church_(Beemer,_Nebraska,_USA)&oldid=175311.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.