Menno Mennonite Church (Menno Colony, Alto Paraguay Department, Paraguay)
Menno Mennonite Church, Menno Colony, Chaco, Paraguay, the church of the Manitoba Mennonites who founded Menno Colony in 1927. In 1956 it had 1,359 baptized members. Martin C. Friesen, the single elder, who has served as elder from the beginning, was assisted by twenty-one preachers and six deacons. In 1953 (according to Fretz) there was only one meetinghouse in the colony located in the village of Osterwick, the residence of the elder. The village schools served as the regular meeting places for worship, but general assemblies were held in the Osterwick church.
The original immigrants, coming largely from the West Reserve in Manitoba, were largely Sommerfelders, and since they brought their elder (Friesen) with them, they constituted the dominant element in church life. The Chortitzer Church group, composed largely of people from the East Reserve in Manitoba, which actually differed little from the Sommerfelders, also brought their leader, Heinrich Unruh, with them, but they were smaller and later merged with the Sommerfelders. The Bergthaler Church, a very small group, led by Aron Zacharias, has practically lost its identity. The Menno Church, in contrast to the Old Colony group in Mexico, was moving progressively forward and strengthening its religious life and oudook.
Bibliography
Fretz, J. Winfield. Pilgrims in Paraguay. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1953.
| Author(s) | Harold S Bender |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, Harold S. "Menno Mennonite Church (Menno Colony, Alto Paraguay Department, Paraguay)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Menno_Mennonite_Church_(Menno_Colony,_Alto_Paraguay_Department,_Paraguay)&oldid=92709.
APA style
Bender, Harold S. (1957). Menno Mennonite Church (Menno Colony, Alto Paraguay Department, Paraguay). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Menno_Mennonite_Church_(Menno_Colony,_Alto_Paraguay_Department,_Paraguay)&oldid=92709.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 576. All rights reserved.
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