Pulaski Mennonite Church (Pulaski, Iowa, USA)
The Pulaski Mennonite Church, Pulaski, Iowa, USA, was organized in 1861. Christian Kropf and Christian Sharp served as the first preachers for the group, which was made up of Amish Mennonite settlers from Canada, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. The group met in homes and schools until it erected the first church in 1866. It erected a second building in 1885, with extensive remodeling in 1914.
Sunday School commenced in 1874. The congregation affiliated with the Middle District Conference in 1890 and with the General Conference of the Mennonite Church in 1892.
Worship services completely changed from German to English during the early ministry of W. W. Miller prior to 1900. During Philip Roulet's leadership, numerous Amish practices were dropped, including the use of the ban, foot washing, and the head covering for women. Instrumental music in church was accepted.
In 2000 when the Northern District of the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Iowa-Nebraska Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC) merged to form the Central Plains Conference of Mennonite Church USA, Pulaski Mennonite shifted from the Central District Conference to the new Central Plains Conference.
In August 2017, Pulaski Mennonite withdrew from the Central Plains Conference and Mennonite Church USA and joined the Conservative Mennonite Conference.
Bibliography
"Rev. Philip Roulet." Find a Grave, database and images. Web. 29 January 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60376628/philip-roulet.
Swartzendruber, Victor E. "The Pulaski, Iowa, Mennonite Church celebrates." The Mennonite 51, no. 49 (15 December 1936): 1-2.
Additional Information
Address: 28026 275th Street, Bloomfield, Iowa 52537
Phone: 641-675-3845
Website: http://www.pulaskimennonite.org/
Denominational Affiliations: Central District Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Pulaski Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Christian Kropf (1829-1905) | 1861-1865 |
| Christian H. Sharp (1826-1915) | 1861-1865 |
| Christian Brenneman (1814-1884) (Deacon providing leadership) |
1865-1869 |
| Philip Roulet (1828-1904) | 1869-1904 |
| C. Garber | 1895-1896 |
| Walker Wilson "W. W." Miller (1858-1941) | 1897-1914 1925-1939 |
| Menno A. "M. A." Niswander (1878-1959) | 1914-1919 |
| Samuel T. Moyer (1893-1972) | 1919-1920 |
| Andrew S. "A. S." Bechtel (1874-1968) | 1920-1925 |
| Wilhelm F. "W. F." Unruh (1897-1980) | 1939-1941 |
| Emil A. "E. A." Sommer (1883-1957) | 1942-1947 |
| Verney L. Unruh (1923-2006)(Interim) (Pastor) |
1947 June 1948-1951 |
| Donald Forbes (Interim) | 1948 |
| Ernst Harder (1922-1995) | 1951-1954 |
| Kenneth M. Shelly (1931-1994) | 1954-1959 |
| Myron J. Krehbiel (1930-2011) | 1959-1962 |
| Frank R. Mitchell (1896-1972) | 1962-1968 |
| Ernest Porzelius (Interim) | 1968-1969? |
| William M. Halstead (Interim) (1892-1970) | 1969-1970 |
| Delvyn Epp | 1970-1972 |
| S. Roy Kaufman | 1972-1986 |
| Nancy Kerr | 1986-1989 |
| John E. Bergen | 1989-1994 |
| Mark W. Stahl | 1994-1998 |
| Jeffrey A. Ludwig | 1999?-2002 |
| Darrell E. Zook | 2004?-2019 |
| Ronald Wenger | 2019- |
Membership at Pulaski Mennonite Church
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1905 | 232 |
| 1910 | 219 |
| 1920 | 212 |
| 1930 | 205 |
| 1940 | 140 |
| 1950 | 119 |
| 1960 | 148 |
| 1970 | 151 |
| 1980 | 147 |
| 1990 | 128 |
| 2000 | 124 |
| 2009 | 119 |
| 2022 | 116 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Victor E. Swartzendruber. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 231. All rights reserved.
Pulaski Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite Church), located three miles southwest of Pulaski, Davis County, Iowa, a member of the Middle District Conference, was organized in 1861.
Christ Kropf and Christ Sharp from Indiana were the first preachers for the group, which was made up of Mennonite settlers from Canada, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Meetings were held in homes and schools until the first church was erected in 1866. The second was dedicated in 1885, with extensive remodeling in 1914. Among those who have served were two pastors, Philip Roulet from Ohio and W. W. Miller from Indiana, whose two terms totaled more than 60 years. The pastor in 1958 was Kenneth Shelly, from Pennsylvania, with a membership of 154, mostly rural.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | February 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Pulaski Mennonite Church (Pulaski, Iowa, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2023. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pulaski_Mennonite_Church_(Pulaski,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=174772.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (February 2023). Pulaski Mennonite Church (Pulaski, Iowa, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pulaski_Mennonite_Church_(Pulaski,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=174772.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.