Rochester Mennonite Church (Rochester, Minnesota, USA)
The Rochester Mennonite Fellowship, Rochester, Minnesota, USA, began informally before 1979 when local Mennonites began to meet for social times, meals, singing, Bible study, and prayer. Soon an established group of Mennonites formed and met regularly in homes. The group received encouragement from First Mennonite Church in Mountain Lake.
The congregation formed officially in 1989 and joined the General Conference Mennonite Church. In 1997 it joined the Northern District of the General Conference. They began to meet at the Assisi Heights Spirituality Center. In 2001 it called its first pastor, David Brunner, and began to call itself Rochester Mennonite Church. In January 2004, it moved to rented space at Schaeffer Academy, a private church school, for Sunday school and worship. By the early 2010s, it began to rent space at the Christ United Methodist Church.
Part of the congregation's ministry has been to support Mennonites receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic, which is located in Rochester.
In 2000 when the Northern District of the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Iowa-Nebraska Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC) merged to form the Central Plains Conference of Mennonite Church USA, Rochester Mennonite shifted from the Northern District Conference to the new Central Plains Conference.
In 2023 the congregation was part of the Central Plains Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Bibliography
"History of Mennonites in Rochester, MN." Rochester Mennonite Church. 2010? Web. 16 June 2023. https://rmcmn.org/Resources/HistoryMennonitesRoch.pdf.
Schmidt, Diena, ed. The Northern District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church 1891-1991. Freeman, S.D.: The Conference, 1991: 70-71.
Additional Information
Meeting Address: Christ United Methodist Church Chapel, 400 5th Street SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55902
Phone: 507-421-7090
Website: https://rmcmn.org/
Denominational Affiliations: Central Plains Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Rochester Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Lay leadership | 1979-2001 |
| David D. Brunner | 2001-2013 |
| Galen Penner | 2013- |
Membership at Rochester Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 26 |
| 2000 | 22 |
| 2009 | 22 |
| 2020 | 24 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | June 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Rochester Mennonite Church (Rochester, Minnesota, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rochester_Mennonite_Church_(Rochester,_Minnesota,_USA)&oldid=175913.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (June 2023). Rochester Mennonite Church (Rochester, Minnesota, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rochester_Mennonite_Church_(Rochester,_Minnesota,_USA)&oldid=175913.
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