Graft (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)
Graft (Noordeind), a village in the Dutch province of North Holland, between Alkmaar and Hoorn, which has from a very early date been the seat of a Mennonite congregation. In the middle of the 16th century, according to J. A. Leeghwater, the Mennonites of that area met for worship on an island in Schermer Lake called Matten. The congregation was closely associated with the neighboring De Rijp congregation, and is often called the congregation of Graft en de Rijp. The congregation belonged to the Waterlander branch, and existed before 1581, in which year its representatives were present at the meeting of Waterlander churches at Amsterdam. In 1654 De Rijp was completely burned down, and with it the Mennonite church with its archives. Strangely the archives of the Graft congregation have nothing before 1654. Since that date the lists of members and preachers are intact. In 1655 the membership numbered 211, in 1658 even 232. Then it decreased: 1671, 188; 1724, 101; 1730, 77; 1757, 39; 1824, 17. Since then there is again a rapid increase: 1836, 50; 1861, 75; a standstill, 1898, 73; 1928, 75, and a new decline to about 50 in 1953. The small congregation contributed liberally to the Fund for Foreign Needs in 1733, 1736, and 1744.
Formerly the congregation had a large wooden meetinghouse, which was torn down in 1809 and replaced by a smaller one, also of wood. A brick church was built in 1874 and an organ acquired in 1897. Since 1921 the congregation of Graft has been united with that of Oost- and West-Graftdijk. The last pastors of the independent congregation of Graft were C. Nijdam 1909-1912, J. Dirkmaat 1912-1914, and Miss J. L. de Eerens 1918-1919.
Bibliography
Cate, Steven Blaupot ten. Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht en Gelderland, 2 vols. Amsterdam: P.N. van Kampen, 1847: I and II, passim.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1875): 129; (1877): 80; (1878): 111-119; (1882): 108.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 155.
Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam, 2 vols. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: I, No. 474; II, Nos. 1824-1827.
Maps
Map:Graft (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)
| Author(s) | C. Nijdam |
|---|---|
| Nanne van der Zijpp | |
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Nijdam, C. and Nanne van der Zijpp. "Graft (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 23 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Graft_(Noord-Holland,_Netherlands)&oldid=124794.
APA style
Nijdam, C. and Nanne van der Zijpp. (1957). Graft (Noord-Holland, Netherlands). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Graft_(Noord-Holland,_Netherlands)&oldid=124794.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 562. All rights reserved.
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