Trenque Lauquen Mennonite Church (Trenque Lauquen, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Mennonite Church in Trenque Lanquen, Argentina.
Source: Mennonite Board of Missions. Photographs. Argentina, 1942-1963.
IV-10-7.2 Box 1 folder 42, photo #13.
Mennonite Church USA Archives - Goshen. Goshen, Indiana.

Trenque Lauquen Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church). In August 1920 approximately a year and a half after the beginning of mission work in Pehuajó, Argentina, J. W. Shank and T. K. Hershey visited Trenque Lauquen, situated 50 miles southwest of Pehuajo, and about 300 miles southwest of Buenos Aires. The Shank family moved to Trenque Lauquen on 7 September 1920, but illness in the family postponed the formal opening until November 27. At this time Albano Luayza, an experienced Argentine pastor, was secured for evangelistic meetings, and on 19 May 1921, the first four members were received into the church by baptism. By the end of the second year there were about 20 members in this congregation.

Anita Cavadore from Pehuajó arrived in Trenque Lauquen in 1921 as a worker and Bible reader. On 12-13 February 1923, the first conference of the Mennonite Church in Argentina was held in Trenque Lauquen. This gathering, added to the coming of the Orphanage in 1927 and the Printery in 1928, lent stability to the work. Certainly the kindergarten played a major role in winning the sympathy and in some cases the active support of the business and professional classes of the city. The economic status of the members has risen; about 85 per cent of the 96 members now own their homes. Carmen Palomeque, a member of the congregation, translated the Bender-Horsch book on Menno Simons into Spanish, which has been published jointly by the Mennonite Printery and the Methodist publishing house at Buenos Aires (1943). This is still the only book in Spanish on Mennonite history.

The T. K. Hershey family was located in Trenque Lauquen 1928-46, followed by the William Hallman family 1946-53, and the Frank Byler family 1953-58.

In 1952 there were significant organizational changes, placing a large number of laymen in all departments of the church activity and the weekly appointments in the neighboring town of Paso. In 1954 the first deacon in the history of the Mennonite Church of Argentina, José Ibarzabal, was elected by the congregation and Pedro Strucchi was consecrated as the assistant pastor.

The institutions located in Trenque Lauquen have included (1) the orphanage 1927-34, with Selena Gamber, Vera Hallman, Elvin Snyder, and Mary F. Snyder; (2) the printery 1928-55, with Juan Battaglia in charge 1928-55; and (3) the campground 1945-    . The significance of the campground to the local congregation cannot be overemphasized, since practically all the summer activities of the church as a whole, such as the Annual Conference and Young People's Retreat, are held there. In 1957 the membership was 86, and the pastor was Ernesto Suarez.

Bibliography

La Voz Mennonita (February 1940).

Shank, Hershey, et al. The Gospel Under the Southern Cross. Scottdale, 1943.

Author(s)	William E Hallman
Date Published	1959

Cite This Article

MLA style

Hallman, William E. "Trenque Lauquen Mennonite Church (Trenque Lauquen, Buenos Aires, Argentina)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Trenque_Lauquen_Mennonite_Church_(Trenque_Lauquen,_Buenos_Aires,_Argentina)&oldid=127019.

APA style

Hallman, William E. (1959). Trenque Lauquen Mennonite Church (Trenque Lauquen, Buenos Aires, Argentina). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Trenque_Lauquen_Mennonite_Church_(Trenque_Lauquen,_Buenos_Aires,_Argentina)&oldid=127019.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 746. All rights reserved.

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