Cedar Falls Mennonite Church (Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA)
The Cedar Falls Mennonite Fellowship, Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA formally organized on 23 January 1983, though a small group had been meeting for several years. It joined the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Iowa-Nebraska Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC) the same year and the Central District Conference the following year.
Initially, the group met in homes and at a campus ministry center near the University of Northern Iowa. In October 1984, it rented and renovated a storefront that it shared with a SELFHELP Crafts shop and changed its name to Cedar Community Mennonite Church. In 1987 it purchased a church building on Byron Avenue in Waterloo.
In 1994, the congregation purchased a large historic Methodist Church building back in Cedar Falls and took the name Cedar Falls Mennonite Church. Over the years, that building was too large and required too much money to maintain. The congregation sold the building in 2018; it was demolished in 2022 to make way for residential housing. The congregation began renting space from a Presbyterian Church three blocks away.
As part of the realignment of the Mennonite Church (MC) and General Conference Mennonite Church into Mennonite Church USA, Cedar Falls was among the congregations that joined the new Central Plains Mennonite Conference in 2000. It relinquished its membership in the Central District Conference.
In 2022 the congregation was part of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Bibliography
"The Cedar Falls (Iowa) Mennonite Fellowship...." The Mennonite 98, no. 8 (12 April 1983): 185.
Huber, Tim. "Iowa church building gives way to time." Anabaptist World 31 October 2022. Web. 28 December 2022. https://anabaptistworld.org/iowa-church-building-gives-way-to-time/.
Kessler, Thomas. "Moving with discernment." Scattered Seeds (June 2019): 2, 4.
"The Mennonite congregation in Cedar Falls, Iowa...." Gospel Herald 77, no. 43 (23 October 1984): 745.
"New building dedicated." The Mennonite 102, no. 8 (28 April 1987): 183.
Rich, Elaine Sommers, ed. Walking Together in Faith: The Central District Conference, 1957-1990. Bluffton, Ohio: The Conference, 2003: 83.
Shenk, Dan. "Gratitude for growth in Cedar Falls, Iowa." Gospel Herald 77, no. 52 (25 December 1984): 909.
Additional Information
Meeting Address: First Presbyterian Church, 902 Main Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Phone: 319-277-5611
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/cedarfallsmennonitechurch/home
Denominational Affiliations: Central Plains Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Cedar Falls Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Steven D. Reschly | 1983-1987 |
| Sue Breiner (Interim) | 1987-1988 |
| Terry Rediger | 1988-1998? |
| Jennifer Davis Sensenig | 1998-2003 |
| Susan E. Janzen | 2004-2019 |
| Scott Roser (Interim) | 2019-2020 |
| Robert D. "Bob" Brown | 2020-present |
Membership at Cedar Falls Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 9 |
| 1990 | 17 |
| 2000 | 35 |
| 2009 | 41 |
| 2020 | 40 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Cedar Falls Mennonite Church (Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2022. Web. 28 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cedar_Falls_Mennonite_Church_(Cedar_Falls,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=174459.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (December 2022). Cedar Falls Mennonite Church (Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 28 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cedar_Falls_Mennonite_Church_(Cedar_Falls,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=174459.
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