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Aurora Mennonite Church (formerly Plainview Mennonite Church), (Mennonite Church USA), near Aurora, [[Ohio (USA)|Ohio]], a member of the [[Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA |Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA]], was founded by [[Amish Mennonites|Amish Mennonites]] from [[Nebraska (USA)|Nebraska]]. Several Stutzman families arrived in 1906 but their first minister was Eli B. Stoltzfus of [[West Liberty (Ohio, USA)|West Liberty]], Ohio, who had been ordained for [[Long Green Amish Mennonite Church (Baltimore County, Maryland, USA)|Long Green]], [[Maryland (USA)|Maryland]], in 1908, but moved to [[Portage County (Ohio, USA)|Portage County]] in 1909, and was ordained bishop in 1916. He served from 1909 until his death in 1942.
+
In 1904, Joseph and Alex Stutzman, [[Amish Mennonites]] from [[Nebraska (USA)|Nebraska]], settled near Aurora in [[Portage County (Ohio, USA)|Portage County]], [[Ohio (USA)|Ohio]]. The Alex Miller family from [[Sugarcreek (Ohio, USA)|Sugarcreek]], Ohio, joined them the following year. Other Amish Mennonite families searching for cheaper farmland soon joined them from [[Kansas (USA)|Kansas]], [[Iowa (USA)|Iowa]], [[Colorado (USA)|Colorado]], [[Missouri (USA)|Missouri]], [[Michigan (USA)|Michigan]], and [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]].
  
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Stoltzfus was followed by the following ministers: Eli Stoltzfus 1909-1942, Alex Stutzman 1910-1942, Dan Raber 1911-1939, A. W. Hershberger 1912-1922, Mark Miller 1923-1926, Earl Miller 1931, Herb Troyer 1929-1942, Elmer Stoltzfus 1940-1970, Eugene Yoder 1940-1978, David Miller 1959-1976, Fred Erb 1977, Lawrence Brunk 1978-1987, Robert Troyer 1988-1990, Marlin Birkey 1990-1999, Glenn Steiner (interim) 2000-2001, Jess and Naomi Engle 2002-present. Eli Stoltzfus was bishop from 1916 to 1942 and Elmer Stoltzfus was bishop from 1942-1970.
+
The community began a [[Sunday School|Sunday school]] in 1906 and was occasionally visited by ministers from nearby counties. It used a vacant schoolhouse rented at the corner of Bartlett and Elliman Roads. The following year, it moved to another schoolhouse on the northwest corner of Route 43 and West Mennonite Road, across the road from the current church building. It then purchased the first schoolhouse and moved it to the congregation's present location.
  
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The congregation enjoyed economic and religious growth. Membership increased from 35 in 1908 to 100 in 1912. In that year the congregation built the present meetinghouse. Members of the congrega­tion helped to found the [[Valley View Mennonite Church (Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, USA)|Britton Run Amish Men­nonite Church]] in [[Crawford County (Pennsylvania, USA)|Crawford County]], [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]], and in the 2950s still assisted actively in the [[Burton Mennonite Church (Burton, Ohio, USA)|Burton Mennonite Church]] in Geauga County and in the [[Gladstone Mennonite Mission (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)|Gladstone Men­nonite Mission]] in [[Cleveland (Ohio, USA)|Cleveland]]. The membership of Plainview in 1957 was 136. At the time, development of the congregation was being hindered by inflationary land values and the encroachment of wealthy buyers of land for rural estates. The resident bishop in 1957 was Elmer B. Stoltzfus (1896-1992) and the minister Eugene Yoder (1896-1978).
+
Elias B. Stoltzfus, from [[West Liberty (Ohio, USA)|West Liberty]], Ohio, felt called to mission service. He was ordained in 1908 to pastor a church in Maryland. Instead, he came to Portage County to lead the small Amish Mennonite congregation there.
 +
 
 +
By 1912, the former schoolhouse was too small. The congregation built a new meetinghouse was dedicated on 17 November 1912. The former building was eventually sold and moved to the home of A. J. Stutzman. After the new meetinghouse was completed, the congregation became known as the Plainview Mennonite Church because of the "plain view" it offered of the nearby countryside. In 1972, the congregation formally changed its name to Aurora Mennonite Church.
 +
 
 +
Buggy sheds were removed in 1925, and an addition with a balcony and inside restrooms was built to the south of the original building in 1948. In 1964, the church added a kitchen in the basement, and in 1970 it added a fellowship hall and Sunday school rooms. Later it remodelled the sanctuary and basement.
 +
 
 +
Initially, Plainview Amish Mennonite Church was part of the [[Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference]]. That body merged with the [[Ohio Mennonite Conference (1843-1927)|Ohio Mennonite Conference]] in 1927 to become the [[Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference (MC)|Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference]] and eventually, the [[Ohio Mennonite Conference]] when the "Eastern" congregations formed their own conference.
 +
 
 +
The Plainview Mennonite Church helped to establish the [[Valley View Mennonite Church (Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, USA)|Britton Run Amish Men­nonite Church]] in [[Crawford County (Pennsylvania, USA)|Crawford County]], [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]] and in the [[Gladstone Mennonite Mission (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)|Gladstone Men­nonite Mission]] in [[Cleveland (Ohio, USA)|Cleveland]].
 +
 
 +
In 2016, Aurora Mennonite left the Ohio Conference and joined the [[LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches|Lancaster Mennonite Conference]]. This move was part of a larger realignment of Mennonite congregations formerly part of [[Mennonite Church USA]]. These congregations were unhappy with Mennonite Church USA's failure to take stronger disciplinary actions against area conferences and congregations that expressed openness to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. The Lancaster Mennonite Conference had taken action in 2015 to withdraw from Mennonite Church USA by the end of 2017 and became an attractive alternative for these congregations.
 
= Bibliography =
 
= Bibliography =
 +
Kudley, John. "A history of the Aurora Mennonite Church."  ''Akron Beacon Journal'' 1 November 2020. Web. 20 September 2024. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinion/2020/11/01/history-aurora-mennonite-church/6113344002/.
 +
 +
Lahmers, Ken. "Kaleidoscope: Local Mennonite church history spans 107 years." ''Akron Beacon Journal'' 22 February 2012. Web. 23 September 2024. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/aurora-advocate/2012/02/22/kaleidoscope-local-mennonite-church-history/19806132007/.
 +
 
Miller, Vern L. "The History of the Plainview Men­nonite Church . . ." (1950, unpublished paper in Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen, Indiana).
 
Miller, Vern L. "The History of the Plainview Men­nonite Church . . ." (1950, unpublished paper in Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen, Indiana).
 +
 +
Stoltzfus, Grant M. ''Mennonites of the Ohio and Eastern Conference; From the Colonial Period in Pennsylvania to 1968''. Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite history, no. 13. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1969: 166-168, 330.
 +
 +
Stoltzfus, Regina Hands. "Mennonites, mission and race: the Cleveland experiment." Anabaptist Historians. 15 November 2016. Web. 23 September 2024. https://anabaptisthistorians.org/2016/11/15/mennonites-mission-and-race-the-cleveland-experiment/.
 
= Additional Information =
 
= Additional Information =
−
<strong>Address</strong>: 59 East Mennonite Road, Aurora, OH  44202
+
'''Address''': 59 East Mennonite Road, Aurora, Ohio 44202
 +
 
 +
'''Telephone''': 330-562-8011
 +
 
 +
'''Website''': [https://www.amcaurora.org/ Aurora Mennonite Church]
 +
 
 +
'''Denominational Affiliations''':
 +
[[Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference]] (1909-1927)
  
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'''Phone''': 330-562-8011
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[[Ohio Mennonite Conference]] (1927-2018)
  
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'''Website''': [http://www.auroramennonite.org/ http://www.auroramennonite.org/]
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[https://lmcchurches.org/ LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches] (2018- )
  
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<strong>Denominational Affiliations</strong>:
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[https://www.mennoniteusa.org/ Mennonite Church USA] (Until 2018)
 +
== Pastoral Leaders at Aurora Mennonite Church ==
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
! Name !! Years<br/>of Service
 +
|-
 +
| Elias "Eli" B. Stoltzfus (1860-1942)<br />(Bishop) || 1909-1916<br />1916-1942
 +
|-
 +
| Daniel B. Raber (1858-1939) || 1911-1939
 +
|-
 +
| Abram W. Hershberger (1875-1942) || 1912-1922
 +
|-
 +
| Mark Miller || 1923-1926
 +
|-
 +
| Earl Miller (1900-1987) || 1931
 +
|-
 +
| Herbert N. Troyer (1889-1954) || 1929-1942
 +
|-
 +
| Elmer B. Stoltzfus (1896-1992)<br />(Bishop) || 1940-1942<br />1942-1970
 +
|-
 +
| Eugene J. Yoder (1896-1978) || 1940-1978
 +
|-
 +
| David F. Miller (1932- ) || 1959-1976
 +
|-
 +
| J. Frederick "Fred" Erb (1922-1985)(Interim) || 1977
 +
|-
 +
| Lawrence B. Brunk (1917-2003) || 1978-1987
 +
|-
 +
| Robert L. Troyer || 1988-1990
 +
|-
 +
| Marlin K. Birkey || 1990-1999
 +
|-
 +
| Glenn Steiner (Interim) || 2000-2001
 +
|-
 +
| Jesse R. Engle || 2002-2009
 +
|-
 +
| Naomi R. Engle (1965-2017) || 2002-2009
 +
|-
 +
| Timothy Schultz || 2009-2013
 +
|-
 +
| James Sutton || 2013-2017
 +
|-
 +
| David Martino || 2017-2024
 +
|}
 +
== Aurora Mennonite Church Membership ==
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
 +
|-
 +
! Year !! Members
 +
|-
 +
| 1909 || 38
 +
|-
 +
| 1920 || 135
 +
|-
 +
| 1930 || 171
 +
|-
 +
| 1940 || 186
 +
|-
 +
| 1950 || 197
 +
|-
 +
| 1960 || 142
 +
|-
 +
| 1970 || 118
 +
|-
 +
| 1980 || 138
 +
|-
 +
| 1990 || 109
 +
|-
 +
| 2000 || 206
 +
|-
 +
| 2009 || 73
 +
|}
 +
= Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article =
  
−
[http://www.ohio.mennonite.net/ Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA]
+
By John S. Umble. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from ''Mennonite Encyclopedia'', Vol. 4, p. 184. All rights reserved.
  
−
[http://www.mennoniteusa.org/ Mennonite Church USA]
+
Plainview Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), near Aurora, [[Ohio (USA)|Ohio]], a member of the [[Ohio Mennonite Conference]], was founded by [[Amish Mennonites]] from [[Nebraska (USA)|Nebraska]]. Several Stutzman families arrived in 1906 but their first minister was Eli B. Stoltzfus of [[West Liberty (Ohio, USA)|West Liberty]], Ohio, who had been ordained for [[Long Green Amish Mennonite Church (Baltimore County, Maryland, USA)|Long Green]], [[Maryland (USA)|Maryland]], in 1908, but moved to [[Portage County (Ohio, USA)|Portage County]] in 1909, and was ordained bishop in 1916. He served from 1909 until his death in 1942.
  
−
= Maps =
+
The congregation enjoyed economic and religious growth. Membership increased from 35 in 1908 to 100 in 1912. In that year the congregation built the present meetinghouse. Members of the congrega­tion helped to found the [[Valley View Mennonite Church (Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, USA)|Britton Run Amish Men­nonite Church]] in [[Crawford County (Pennsylvania, USA)|Crawford County]], [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]], and still assiste actively in the [[Burton Mennonite Church (Burton, Ohio, USA)|Burton Mennonite Church]] in Geauga County and in the [[Gladstone Mennonite Mission (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)|Gladstone Men­nonite Mission]] in [[Cleveland (Ohio, USA)|Cleveland]]. The membership of Plainview in 1957 was 136. At the time, development of the congregation was being hindered by inflationary land values and the encroachment of wealthy buyers of land for rural estates. The resident bishop in 1957 was Elmer B. Stoltzfus (1896-1992) and the minister Eugene Yoder (1896-1978).
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[[Map:Aurora Mennonite Church (Aurora, Ohio)|Map:Aurora Mennonite Church (Aurora, Ohio)]]
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{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=September 2024|a1_last=Thiessen|a1_first=Richard D.|a2_last=Steiner|a2_first=Samuel J.}}
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{{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 4, p. 184|date=February 2008|a1_last=Umble|a1_first=John S.|a2_last=Thiessen|a2_first=Richard D.}}
 
 
[[Category:Churches]]
 
[[Category:Churches]]
 +
[[Category:Ohio Mennonite Conference Congregations]]
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[[Category:LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches Congregations]]
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[[Category:Mennonite Church (MC) Congregations]]
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[[Category:Mennonite Church USA Congregations]]
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[[Category:Ohio Congregations]]
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[[Category:United States Congregations]]

Latest revision as of 22:31, 24 September 2024

In 1904, Joseph and Alex Stutzman, Amish Mennonites from Nebraska, settled near Aurora in Portage County, Ohio. The Alex Miller family from Sugarcreek, Ohio, joined them the following year. Other Amish Mennonite families searching for cheaper farmland soon joined them from Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

The community began a Sunday school in 1906 and was occasionally visited by ministers from nearby counties. It used a vacant schoolhouse rented at the corner of Bartlett and Elliman Roads. The following year, it moved to another schoolhouse on the northwest corner of Route 43 and West Mennonite Road, across the road from the current church building. It then purchased the first schoolhouse and moved it to the congregation's present location.

Elias B. Stoltzfus, from West Liberty, Ohio, felt called to mission service. He was ordained in 1908 to pastor a church in Maryland. Instead, he came to Portage County to lead the small Amish Mennonite congregation there.

By 1912, the former schoolhouse was too small. The congregation built a new meetinghouse was dedicated on 17 November 1912. The former building was eventually sold and moved to the home of A. J. Stutzman. After the new meetinghouse was completed, the congregation became known as the Plainview Mennonite Church because of the "plain view" it offered of the nearby countryside. In 1972, the congregation formally changed its name to Aurora Mennonite Church.

Buggy sheds were removed in 1925, and an addition with a balcony and inside restrooms was built to the south of the original building in 1948. In 1964, the church added a kitchen in the basement, and in 1970 it added a fellowship hall and Sunday school rooms. Later it remodelled the sanctuary and basement.

Initially, Plainview Amish Mennonite Church was part of the Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference. That body merged with the Ohio Mennonite Conference in 1927 to become the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference and eventually, the Ohio Mennonite Conference when the "Eastern" congregations formed their own conference.

The Plainview Mennonite Church helped to establish the Britton Run Amish Men­nonite Church in Crawford County, Pennsylvania and in the Gladstone Men­nonite Mission in Cleveland.

In 2016, Aurora Mennonite left the Ohio Conference and joined the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. This move was part of a larger realignment of Mennonite congregations formerly part of Mennonite Church USA. These congregations were unhappy with Mennonite Church USA's failure to take stronger disciplinary actions against area conferences and congregations that expressed openness to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. The Lancaster Mennonite Conference had taken action in 2015 to withdraw from Mennonite Church USA by the end of 2017 and became an attractive alternative for these congregations.

Bibliography

Kudley, John. "A history of the Aurora Mennonite Church." Akron Beacon Journal 1 November 2020. Web. 20 September 2024. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinion/2020/11/01/history-aurora-mennonite-church/6113344002/.

Lahmers, Ken. "Kaleidoscope: Local Mennonite church history spans 107 years." Akron Beacon Journal 22 February 2012. Web. 23 September 2024. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/aurora-advocate/2012/02/22/kaleidoscope-local-mennonite-church-history/19806132007/.

Miller, Vern L. "The History of the Plainview Men­nonite Church . . ." (1950, unpublished paper in Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen, Indiana).

Stoltzfus, Grant M. Mennonites of the Ohio and Eastern Conference; From the Colonial Period in Pennsylvania to 1968. Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite history, no. 13. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1969: 166-168, 330.

Stoltzfus, Regina Hands. "Mennonites, mission and race: the Cleveland experiment." Anabaptist Historians. 15 November 2016. Web. 23 September 2024. https://anabaptisthistorians.org/2016/11/15/mennonites-mission-and-race-the-cleveland-experiment/.

Additional Information

Address: 59 East Mennonite Road, Aurora, Ohio 44202

Telephone: 330-562-8011

Website: Aurora Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations: Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference (1909-1927)

Ohio Mennonite Conference (1927-2018)

LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches (2018- )

Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)

Pastoral Leaders at Aurora Mennonite Church

Name Years
of Service
Elias "Eli" B. Stoltzfus (1860-1942)
(Bishop)		 1909-1916
1916-1942
Daniel B. Raber (1858-1939) 1911-1939
Abram W. Hershberger (1875-1942) 1912-1922
Mark Miller 1923-1926
Earl Miller (1900-1987) 1931
Herbert N. Troyer (1889-1954) 1929-1942
Elmer B. Stoltzfus (1896-1992)
(Bishop)		 1940-1942
1942-1970
Eugene J. Yoder (1896-1978) 1940-1978
David F. Miller (1932- ) 1959-1976
J. Frederick "Fred" Erb (1922-1985)(Interim) 1977
Lawrence B. Brunk (1917-2003) 1978-1987
Robert L. Troyer 1988-1990
Marlin K. Birkey 1990-1999
Glenn Steiner (Interim) 2000-2001
Jesse R. Engle 2002-2009
Naomi R. Engle (1965-2017) 2002-2009
Timothy Schultz 2009-2013
James Sutton 2013-2017
David Martino 2017-2024

Aurora Mennonite Church Membership

Year Members
1909 38
1920 135
1930 171
1940 186
1950 197
1960 142
1970 118
1980 138
1990 109
2000 206
2009 73

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

By John S. Umble. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 184. All rights reserved.

Plainview Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), near Aurora, Ohio, a member of the Ohio Mennonite Conference, was founded by Amish Mennonites from Nebraska. Several Stutzman families arrived in 1906 but their first minister was Eli B. Stoltzfus of West Liberty, Ohio, who had been ordained for Long Green, Maryland, in 1908, but moved to Portage County in 1909, and was ordained bishop in 1916. He served from 1909 until his death in 1942.

The congregation enjoyed economic and religious growth. Membership increased from 35 in 1908 to 100 in 1912. In that year the congregation built the present meetinghouse. Members of the congrega­tion helped to found the Britton Run Amish Men­nonite Church in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and still assiste actively in the Burton Mennonite Church in Geauga County and in the Gladstone Men­nonite Mission in Cleveland. The membership of Plainview in 1957 was 136. At the time, development of the congregation was being hindered by inflationary land values and the encroachment of wealthy buyers of land for rural estates. The resident bishop in 1957 was Elmer B. Stoltzfus (1896-1992) and the minister Eugene Yoder (1896-1978).


Author(s) Richard D. Thiessen
Samuel J. Steiner
Date Published September 2024

Cite This Article

MLA style

Thiessen, Richard D. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Aurora Mennonite Church (Aurora, Ohio, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2024. Web. 18 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Aurora_Mennonite_Church_(Aurora,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=179735.

APA style

Thiessen, Richard D. and Samuel J. Steiner. (September 2024). Aurora Mennonite Church (Aurora, Ohio, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Aurora_Mennonite_Church_(Aurora,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=179735.



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