Shore Mennonite Church (Shipshewana, Indiana, USA)
The Lake Mennonite meetinghouse, south and east of Shipshewana, Indiana, on U.S. Highway 20, was named for its proximity to Hood Lake (later called Shore Lake). Later called the Shore congregation, it was initially one of the meeting locations of the Clinton Frame Amish Mennonite Church. Initially, the group met in homes or the Lake Schoolhouse.
The first local minister was Henry A. Miller from Pennsylvania, who settled in Lagrange County in 1851. He was ordained sometime before 1867. His co-minister, J. J. Weaver, was silenced in 1896, perhaps for activities related to his practice of powwowing."
The congregation built a meetinghouse near the north end of Shore Lake in 1874. In 1892, the congregation moved the meetinghouse across the road, enlarged the sanctuary, and added anterooms. In 1929, Shore Mennonite built a new meetinghouse and dedicated it on 18 August 1929. It added an addition in the early 1960s.
Shore Mennonite organized a Sunday school by 1883. In 1897, what later was called Young People's Bible Meeting began. The women organized a sewing circle in 1918.
Shore established mission outposts in White Cloud, Michigan, Emma Mennonite in Emma, Indiana, Locust Grove in Findley, Michigan, Marion Mennonite in Seybert, Indiana, and a mission in Jetson, Kentucky.
The Shore Mennonite Church was destroyed during the Palm Sunday tornados on 11 April 1965, and nine of its members were killed. A mass funeral for eight of the nine was held on 15 April 1965 in the local school gymnasium. The rebuilt structure was dedicated on 14 August 1966.
In 1995, the Shore Mennonite Church began a daycare program called Rainbow Years Learning Ministries. By 2006, it served 40-45 children during the week.
In 2006, the congregation was diverse in age, with a third under age 30, a third between 30 and 60, and a third over 60.
In June 2015, the Shore congregation withdrew from the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. This move was part of a larger realignment of Mennonite congregations in the 2010s that were formerly part of Mennonite Church USA.
Pastor Carl Horner said the church believed that Mennonite Church USA lacked an emphasis on Scripture and wasn't willing to step in and discipline somebody who had broken polity. Shore’s members voted 95 percent in favor of leaving MC USA and the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference and exploring the possibility of joining Evana, a new body that took its name from the words "evangelical" and "Anabaptist."
The Shore Mennonite Church did become part of the Evana Network and then changed its name to Shore Church.
Bibliography
Horner, Carl. "Shore Mennonite." Gospel Evangel 87, no. 6 (October 2006): 6-7.
"Hundreds of Mennonite Disaster Service volunteers...." Gospel Herald 58, no. 16 (27 April 1965): 367.
"A mass funeral...." Gospel Herald 58, no. 19 (18 May 1965): 422.
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 182-183, 221, 253, 256-257, 312.
"Shore Mennonite Church,..." Gospel Herald 59, no. 6 (15 February 1966): 140.
Stella, Rachel. "Evana envisions stronger evangelical Anabaptist voice." Mennonite World Review 25 April 2016. Web. 8 August 2024. https://anabaptistworld.org/evana-envisions-stronger-evangelical-anabaptist-voice/.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 111-114.
Additional Information
Address: 7235 West US Hwy 20, Shipshewana, Indiana
Meeting Place:
Telephone: 260-768-4240
Website: https://shorechurch-in.org/
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (Until 2016)
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2016)
Pastoral Leaders at Shore Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Henry A. Miller (1820-1893) (Bishop) |
1865?-1883 1883-1893 |
| John Jacob "J. J." Weaver (1830-1920) | 1867?-1896 |
| Amos S. Cripe (1856-1938) | 1887-1938 |
| Yost C. Miller (1855-1943) | 1892-1943 |
| Seth P. Hershberger (1860-1941) | 1908-1919 |
| Jacob P. Miller (1850-1927)(Bishop) | 1916-1927 |
| Josiah J. Miller (1870-1958) | 1902-1958 |
| Percy J. Miller (1897-1972) | 1933-1964 |
| Lee J. Miller (1907-1984)(Bishop) | 1945-1961 |
| Arnold C. Roth (1932- ) | 1959-1964 |
| Orvin H. "O. H." Hooley (1910-1998)(Bishop) | 1964-1975 |
| Harvey L. Chupp (1937-2015) | 1971-1982 |
| Orville G. Miller | 1981-1987 |
| Aden J. Yoder (1925-2023) | 1984-1988 |
| Leon D. Kaufman (1940-1992)(Interim) | 1989-1990 |
| Steven Slagel | 1989-1991 |
| Barry Loop | 1991-1996 |
| Carl Horner | 1993-2022 |
| Brent A. Eash (1959-2018) | 1997-2010 |
| Nic Raber | 2020- |
| Lance Miller (Youth and Family) | 2023- |
Shore Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 124 |
| 1905 | 200 |
| 1913 | 200 |
| 1920 | 224 |
| 1930 | 299 |
| 1940 | 324 |
| 1950 | 346 |
| 1960 | 369 |
| 1970 | 280 |
| 1980 | 326 |
| 1990 | 321 |
| 2000 | 343 |
| 2009 | 323 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Vinetta Coffman. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 516. All rights reserved.
The Shore Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), a member of the Indiana-Michigan Conference, is located one mile (1.5 km) south and one mile (1.5 km) east of Shipshewana, Lagrange County, Indiana, on State Road 20 near Shore Lake. In the early 1860s church services were held in a barn or homes of members. A few years later a schoolhouse was used for services. At this time the name Shore was given to the small village, the school, and the lake. The members residing in this community held membership with the Clinton Brick Mennonite Church, and many years after the church was organized the ministers served both congregations. In 1874 a site was donated by William Wiler, and a church 30 x 40 ft. was built on the west side of Shore Lake. The membership then was about 200. In 1893 this building was moved across the road and enlarged; it was replaced by a new church in 1929. Some of the early ministers who served at the Shore Mennonite Church were John Nusbaum, Henry A. Miller, and J. J. Weaver (who preached in English), P. Y. Lehman, James J. Mishler, John Garber, and P. J. Miller. In 1957 the bishop was Lee J. Miller (ordained 1945), and Josiah J. Miller and Percy J. Miller (ordained 1933) the ministers. The 1957 membership was 333.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Shore Mennonite Church (Shipshewana, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2024. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Shore_Mennonite_Church_(Shipshewana,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179403.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2024). Shore Mennonite Church (Shipshewana, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Shore_Mennonite_Church_(Shipshewana,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179403.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.