St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
The St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, began as a Voluntary Service unit in 1972. Barry and Fern Hieb and Leo and Mary Kay Kreider provided early leadership. The group first met for worship monthly; in 1975, it began weekly worship services. The Mennonite Voluntary Service unit continued until 2015.
The congregation joined the Central District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1975. In about 1979, it also joined the South Central Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC). Because the Central District shared its conference minister with the Illinois Mennonite Conference, in 1988, the Fellowship transferred from the South Central Conference to the Illinois Mennonite Conference. Sometime around 2005 the congregation withdrew from the Central District Conference and affiliated only with the Illinois Conference.
The congregation initially met in the Edgewood Children's Center, a boarding school for children with emotional difficulties located in the western suburbs of St. Louis and a place many Voluntary Service personnel worked. In 1985 it began to share space with the Rock Hill Presbyterian Church. It later rented space at a Lutheran church that subsequently closed and another Presbyterian Church.
In the 1980s, the congregation became highly involved in peace action through groups such as the St. Louis Mennonite Peace Witness, Plowshares Selfhelp Crafts, and Project Peanut Butter.
In 1999, the St. Louis Fellowship, primarily a white congregation, partnered with the other Mennonite congregation in St. Louis, the Bethesda Mennonite Church, an African American congregation. Their partnership was inspired by the denominational City on a Hill project, and saw the two churches occasionally worship together and cooperate in sponsoring workshops, such as one on racism in 2014 following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
In 2023 the congregation was part of the Illinois Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Bibliography
"A diverse congregation: Shared leadership and diverse backgrounds characterize St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship." TheMennonite 2, no. 25 (6 July 1999): 18-19.
"Central District struggles with food issues." The Mennonite 90, no. 18 (6 May 1975): 286.
Groff, Anna. "A beacon for racial justice in St. Louis: Two Mennonite congregations, black and white, seek to work together." TheMennonite 18, no. 6 (June 2015): 39.
_____. "Peanut Butter Project fights malnutrition: Mennonite medical nonprofiteers attend St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship." TheMennonite 14, no. 11 (November 2011): 43.
Hege, Beth. "Neufeld leads peace actions in St. Louis." The Mennonite 106, no. 3 (12 February 1991): 66.
"Mennonite and Presbyterian congregations in St. Louis...." Gospel Herald 78, no. 41 (8 October 1985): 709.
Rich, Elaine Sommers, ed. Walking Together in Faith: The Central District Conference, 1957-1990. Bluffton, Ohio: The Conference, 2003: 78.
"St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship...." Gospel Herald 81, no. 8 (23 February 1988): 139.
Zuercher, Melanie. "'Not as a melting pot but as a salad bowl': Multicultural church plant goal of St. Louis initiative." TheMennonite 3, no. 46 (12 December 2000): 10.
Additional Information
Address: 3752 Giles Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63116
Phone: 314-632-6846
Website: https://www.slmf.org/
Denominational Affiliations: Illinois Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Lay Leadership | 1975-1978 |
| Leland D. Harder (1926-2013)(Co-Pastor) | 1978-1981 |
| Bertha Harder (1914-2008)(Co-Pastor) | 1978-1981 |
| Thomas E. "Tom" Voth | 1981-1989 |
| Lay Leadership (Interim) | 1989-1990 |
| Ed M. Springer | 1990-2001 |
| Melissa S. Roth | 2003-2006 |
| Samuel Voth Schrag | 2007-2017 |
| Jennifer Harris Dault (Associate) (Pastor) |
2012?-2017 2017- |
Membership at St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1975 | 9 |
| 1980 | 10 |
| 1990 | 51 |
| 2000 | 64 |
| 2009 | 65 |
| 2020 | 50 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | February 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=St._Louis_Mennonite_Fellowship_(St._Louis,_Missouri,_USA)&oldid=174846.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (February 2023). St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship (St. Louis, Missouri, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=St._Louis_Mennonite_Fellowship_(St._Louis,_Missouri,_USA)&oldid=174846.
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