Lockport Mennonite Church (Stryker, Ohio, USA)

Lockport Mennonite Church, 1908.
Source: Stryker Area Heritage Council website.

Lockport Mennonite Church, 2021.
Photo by Sam Steiner

Lockport Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA) is located three miles (five km) north of Stryker, Williams County, Ohio; a member of the Ohio Mennonite Conference, it had its beginning in 1834-1836, when a group of Amish settlers from Alsace and France settled in the Fulton County area. The most common names were Short, Stuckey, Graber, Beck, and Aschliman. At first, in accord with Amish practice, they met in homes for services.

In 1870 the Central meetinghouse was built and served the entire Fulton-Williams County settlement. At first all Amish-Mennonites in the area came to worship in that central location. Services were held bi-weekly, and Sunday School was held in members’ homes to the west and to the east on alternate Sundays.

From 1888 to 1910, membership in the Amish-Mennonite Church doubled from 265 to 560. Growth was influenced by evangelistic meetings, more use of the English language rather than German, four-part harmony singing and better roads for travel.

Around 1900, there was much discussion about building a new church in the west end settlement (Stryker area). After the death of Bishop Christian Stuckey in 1907, members at an annual business meeting decided to build two new churches. One would be in the west end (Lockport), and the other in the east end (West Clinton).

The first Lockport Church was built at a cost of $2,897 in the village of Lockport. It was built just south of the already existing Lockport Cemetery. Land was purchased for $100 from Joe B. Short. The white frame meetinghouse was 36 by 52 feet with four rows of benches. There was a center partition to divide the men and women. Dedication of the new building was held on 23 August 1908, with 850 persons in attendance and 161 rigs at the hitching posts.

For the next 35 years, the three existing Mennonite churches, including Lockport, Central, and West Clinton, functioned as one body. In January 1922, Lockport was finally granted the privilege of holding its own services every Sunday. Three ministers rotated among all three churches.

In 1930, the original Lockport building was remodeled and enlarged. Expanded to 36 by 70 feet, the frame structure now had a basement, balcony and central heating system. More rows of benches were also added. Much growth occurred during the Depression years. Revival meetings, Winter Bible Schools, increased interest in missions, and religious instruction in the schools all took place. Simon Stuckey and Walter Stuckey were ordained to the ministry in 1938. By 1944, the division from the Central Mennonite Church was complete, and Lockport had 345 members on its roll.

In 1956, Lockport built a separate fellowship hall. The current brick sanctuary was built in 1962 and dedicated on Palm Sunday of 1963. Later, side additions were added to the main church in 1976 and in 1995, including classrooms, office space and an elevator.

In 2008 Lockport Church had a membership of 416. The pastor, Cliff Brubaker, was assisted by a group of four elders. Sunday morning worship was followed by Sunday School. A blended worship service involved scriptural readings, prayer, instrumental music with several praise bands and choirs, four-part a cappella hymn singing, children’s lessons, drama, and sermons. Bible schools had been held every summer since 1946. Other church programs included Mennonite Women, Missions Committee, Christian Education Committee, Visitation and Caring Ministry Team, Caring Christian Committee, Life Planning, Mennonite Youth Fellowship, Quiz Teams, Goldenaires, Ladies Bible Study, Prison Ministry at CCNO, Lockport Bus Tours, and participation in the Black Swamp Benefit Auction.

Lockport Church was responsible for planting two new churches including Pine Grove Mennonite Church in Stryker (1951) and Salem Mennonite Church in Waldron, MI (1960).

Lockport Mennonite Church celebrated its 100th Anniversary as a congregation in 2008. With the theme “Bridging the Century”, a weekend of activities was planned and held by the committee on September 20 and 21. Two publications to honor the occasion were published. The Days of My Years, a memoir of the life and work of Walter Stuckey (1909-2005), was published in book form, and a 100th Anniversary Lockport Mennonite Church cookbook with 660 recipes was also published.

Bibliography

Grove, Myrna. "Lockport Mennonite Church Bridges the Century." Stryker Area Heritage Council. 2011. Web. 5 October 2013. http://www.strykerahc.org/html/lockport_mennonite_church.htm.

Additional Information

Address: 9269 County Road 21 North, Stryker, Ohio

Phone: 419-682-1831

Denominational Affiliations:

Ohio Mennonite Conference

Mennonite Church USA 

Lockport Mennonite Church Pastors and Associate Pastors

Minister	Years of Service
Simon Stuckey	1944-1970
Walter Stuckey	1944-1974
Earl Stuckey	1955-1960
Art Zehr	1971
Keith Leinbach	1973-1987
Jim Groeneweg	1983-1994
Allen Rutter	1988-2006
Charles Gautsche	1994-1996
Mark and Wendy Miller	1997-2004
Pamela Short	2005-2008
Cliff Brubaker	2007-?
Steven Heatwole	2009-present
Matthew J. Weaver	?-present

Original Article from Mennonite Encyclopedia

Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 384. All rights reserved.

Lockport Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA) is located three miles (five km) north of Stryker, Williams County, Ohio; a member of the Ohio Mennonite Conference, it had its beginning in 1834-1836, when a group of Amish settlers from Alsace and France settled in the Fulton County area. The most common names were Short, Stuckey, Graber, Beck, and Aschliman. At first, in accord with Amish practice, they met in homes for services. In 1870 the Central meetinghouse was built and served the entire Fulton-Williams County settlement. Even after other meetinghouses were built at Lockport and West Clinton, the group was organized as a single congregation until 1943. The Lockport church was built in 1908 and remodeled in 1930. It is located at the western end of the Mennonite community. In 1955 the membership was 382, with Walter Stuckey as bishop, and Simon Stuckey and Earl Stuckey as ministers. In 1951 the Lockport congregation established the Pine Grove Mennonite Church. -- Walter Stuckey, 1957

Author(s)	Myrna Grove
Date Published	2011

Cite This Article

MLA style

Grove, Myrna. "Lockport Mennonite Church (Stryker, Ohio, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 2011. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Lockport_Mennonite_Church_(Stryker,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=178497.

APA style

Grove, Myrna. (2011). Lockport Mennonite Church (Stryker, Ohio, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Lockport_Mennonite_Church_(Stryker,_Ohio,_USA)&oldid=178497.

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