Hallum (Friesland, Netherlands)

Hallum is a village in the Dutch province of Friesland, not far from the North Sea, since the 16th century the seat of a Mennonite congregation. Anabaptism was rooted here already in the earliest period; the martyr Frans Claesz, executed in 1539 at Leeuwarden, and also the martyr Joriaen Simonsz, who is said to be from Hallmen in Friesland, burned at the stake at Haarlem in 1557, were natives of this town. In 1568-1582 Leenaert Bouwens baptized here no fewer than 226 persons.  

The Mennonite congregation, however, at this time had its center not in Hallum, but in Hijum, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) west of Hallum. Of its oldest history very little is known. It did not join the Mennonite Societeit (Conference) of Friesland when this was founded in 1695. In 1713 it numbered only about 15 members. In 1779 the old meetinghouse at Hijum was abandoned and a new one built at Hallum, because most members now lived in this town. Then the congregation was called Hallum. From about 1604 until about the beginning of the 18th century there was in addition a second congregation at Hallum, belonging to the Jan Jacobsz group. Between 1604 and 1643 the traveling elders of this group baptized 159 persons at Hallum, but since then no traces any more are found of the Jan Jacobsz group at Hallum. Its last members may have merged with the congregation of Hijum, which joined the Mennonite Conference of Friesland in 1713 as a united congregation. Even after its transfer to Hallum the congregation did not prosper, remaining very small in membership—20 in 1838, 88 in 1861. The last untrained preacher was Johannes Uiltjes Stinne, a cobbler. He served 1783-1818 and was followed by Roelof Schulung, serving 1818-1857, who at the same time also served the congregation of Oudebildtzijl. In 1858 a new parsonage was built. An organ was purchased in 1879, in 1906 replaced by a larger one. In 1896 it was discussed whether the congregation, which then numbered 36 members, would be dissolved, but Pastor Sjoerd Wartena, serving here from 1897 until 1910, succeeded in raising the membership to 100 in 1910. S. Wartena was followed by the pastors M. J. Kosters Gz 1911-1917, H. J. Buse 1917-1922, S. D. A. Wartena, a son of Sjoerd Wartena, 1922-1936, C. P. Hoekema 1936-1945, and A. Veldstra after 1949.

The membership increased to 138 in 1922, 175 in 1954. A new meetinghouse was built in 1912. In the same year two sisters were chosen on the church board as deaconesses. The congregation possesses a small archive; the oldest document is of 1776. The following activities in 1954 were found in the congregation: a Menno Kring (youth group), Menniste Bouwers (age 13-18), Sunday school (age 6-12), and a ladies' circle.

Bibliography

Cate, Steven Blaupot ten. Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in Friesland. Leeuwarden: W. Eekhoff, 1839.

Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1910): 121-141.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 237 f.

Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam. 2 v. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: II, Nos. 1888 f.

Loosjes, J. "Jan Jacobsz en de Jan-Jacobsgezinden." Nederland  Archief v. Kerkgeschichte 11 (1914): 229.

Author(s)	S. D. A. Wartena
	Nanne van der Zijpp
Date Published	1956

Cite This Article

MLA style

Wartena, S. D. A. and Nanne van der Zijpp. "Hallum (Friesland, Netherlands)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hallum_(Friesland,_Netherlands)&oldid=81612.

APA style

Wartena, S. D. A. and Nanne van der Zijpp. (1956). Hallum (Friesland, Netherlands). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hallum_(Friesland,_Netherlands)&oldid=81612.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 636-637. All rights reserved.

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