Salem Mennonite Church (Wisner, Nebraska, USA)
The first Mennonite settlers in the Wisner, Nebraska, area came from Ohio and Donnellson, Iowa. Common family names included Leisy, Risser, Hege, Schowalter, Baer, Boehr, and Stauffer.
Initially, the settlers met in schoolhouses, reading sermons written by other ministers. In 1889 they built the Salem Mennonite Church. Salem was one of six churches to join the Northern District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1894.
Salem actively participated in the Northern District into the 1930s. Salem's Paula Risser served as the first female delegate to the conference in 1922. She served as its secretary for two years.
Families gradually moved away, and in the 1930s, some families followed Amy Sample McPherson and her Foursquare Gospel Church.
There were many years without a resident minister.
Salem Mennonite was last listed in the 1955 Handbook of Information.
Bibliography
Boehr, Henry. "Salem Mennonite Church, Wisner, Nebr." The Mennonite 52, no. 10 (9 March 1939): 8.
"Mennonite Church, Wisner, Nebraska." The Mennonite 59, no. 15 (18 April 1944): 21.
Schmidt, Diena, ed. The Northern District Conference of the General Conference Mennonite Church 1891-1991. Freeman, S.D.: The Conference, 1991: 108-109.
Additional Information
Address: Wisner, Nebraska
Phone:
Website:
Denominational Affiliations: Northern District Conference
General Conference Mennonite Church
Pastoral Leaders at Salem Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jakob Hege (1843-1926) | 1893-1897 |
| Jacob D. Buerky | 1898-1906? |
| Daniel J. Brandt (1871-1945) | 1906-1915 |
| Samuel P. Preheim (1881-1952) | 1916-1920 |
| Henry Boehr (1886-1980) | 1920?-1926? |
| Gerhard Toews | 1927-? |
| Victor Sawatzky (1914-1999) | 1937-1938 |
| Lay Leadership & Visiting Ministers |
1939-1955 |
Salem Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1894 | 60 |
| 1924 | 50 |
| 1933 | 25 |
| 1942 | 14 |
| 1946 | 18 |
| 1952 | 14 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Arthur J. Leisy. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 405. All rights reserved.
Salem Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite Church), now extinct, located 6 miles southwest of Wisner, NE, a member of the Northern District Conference, was organized in 1889 by August Leisy, Henry Leisy, Rudolph Leisy, Jacob Risser, and Chris Risser. The meeting house was built in 1889. In 1954 there was no minister in charge and the church was only semi-active, with 12 members.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | September 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Salem Mennonite Church (Wisner, Nebraska, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2023. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Mennonite_Church_(Wisner,_Nebraska,_USA)&oldid=177477.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (September 2023). Salem Mennonite Church (Wisner, Nebraska, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Mennonite_Church_(Wisner,_Nebraska,_USA)&oldid=177477.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.