Église de Dieu Assemblee de la Grace (Immokalee, Florida, USA)
The Lancaster Mennonite Conference established a service unit at a migrant labor camp in the Florida Everglades at Immokalee in 1952. Immokalee was a crossroads town that grew to 4,000 because of migrant workers each winter. Half of the migrants were Hispanic, and a quarter were African American.
Harold F. Shearer, from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, led the first Voluntary Service (VS) unit that opened a childcare center in December 1952. In 1954, the conference ordained Shearer to provide pastoral leadership to the People's Chapel. The church initially met outdoors until Shearer put up a small frame building on Second Street that he called the People's Chapel. Soon, the People's Chapel and the childcare center moved to a plot on First Street.
In 1958, when more migrants were remaining in Immokalee year-round, Bishop Leroy Stoltzfus baptized several new believers, and the Immokalee Mennonite Church formally began. By the end of 1958, there were 10 members.
On 10 September 1960, Hurricane Donna caused much damage in Immokalee, including the roof of the People's Chapel. The Voluntary Service unit was very helpful at this time. The VS unit continued until 1998.
In 1965, Immokalee became more accessible with a modern four-lane highway. The People's Chapel bought land on Eighth Street North and, in September 1965, began construction of a sanctuary, fellowship hall, and classroom wing. It was dedicated on 17 April 1966. However, the modern building was less attractive to the migrant workers who had filled the initial People's Chapel.
When the Southeast Mennonite Convention became more formalized in the 1970s, the People's Chapel decided to strengthen its links to other Mennonite congregations in the Southeast United States and ended its formal relationship with the Lancaster Mennonite Conference.
In about 1993, the People's Chapel shared its space and some pastoral leadership with a new Spanish-language church, Iglesia Hispana Menonita. However, this later became an outreach to Haitian migrants as the French-speaking Eglise de Dieu Assemblee de la Grace, Immokalee, Florida. The English-language People's Chapel appeared to end in about 2000, while the Assemblee de la Grace remained in the former People's Chapel space and part of the Southeast Mennonite Conference.
In 2018, the Southeast Mennonite Conference withdrew from Mennonite Church USA and became a district of LMC, a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches. Thus, Assemblee de la Grace's denominational affiliation changed.
Bibliography
Hess, J. Daniel. "Harvest of Shame." Gospel Herald 54, no. 22 (30 May 1961): 496.
Lehman, Martin W. Roots & Branches: a Narrative History of the Amish and Mennonites in Southeast United States, 1892-1992, 2 vols. Telford, Pa.: Cascadia Publishing Company, 2010-2011: v. 1: 100, 102, 105-106, 192-193, 236-237, 251; v. 2: 40-44, 88-90, 183-184.
"A new highway for Immokalee." Gospel Herald 58, no. 20 (25 May 1965): 456.
Additional Information
Address: 615 North 9th Street, Immokalee, Florida 34142,
Telephone: 239-645-8993
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches (2019- )
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)
Pastoral Leaders at People's Chapel/Assemblee de la Grace
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Harold F. Shearer (1928-2019) | 1954-1967 1969-1972 |
| Lawrence Sauder (Interim) | 1967-1969 |
| Melvin J. Wert | 1973-1975 |
| Lay Leadership | 1975-1979 |
| Ben Hershey | 1979-2000? |
| Gilberto Perez | 1993?-1996 |
| Lay Leadership | 1996-1998 |
| Laurent Louis | 1998- |
| Marie Gilot (Associate) | 2002?-2008? |
People's Chapel/Assemblee de la Grace Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1958 | 10 |
| 1960 | 12 |
| 1970 | 28 |
| 1980 | 17 |
| 1990 | 22 |
| 2000 | 14 |
| 2009 | 40 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | September 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Église de Dieu Assemblee de la Grace (Immokalee, Florida, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2024. Web. 26 Sep 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=%C3%89glise_de_Dieu_Assemblee_de_la_Grace_(Immokalee,_Florida,_USA)&oldid=179700.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (September 2024). Église de Dieu Assemblee de la Grace (Immokalee, Florida, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 26 September 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=%C3%89glise_de_Dieu_Assemblee_de_la_Grace_(Immokalee,_Florida,_USA)&oldid=179700.
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