Penner, Peter William (1876-1953)
Peter Penner (12 February 1876-2 February 1953) was a General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM) missionary to India. He was born in Prangenau, Molotschna, South Russia. When he was two years old, his father, Jakob Penner, migrated to America and settled in the Brudertal community, Hillsboro, KS Here Peter attended the school and was baptized on 3 June 1895 by Wm. J. Ewert, elder of the Brudertal Mennonite Church. In 1902 he married Mathilde Ensz. He attended Bethel College 1896-1898, and after taking a teachers' training course at the Mennonite Educational Institute, Gretna, Manitoba, he taught there from 1900-1904. After teaching for four years Penner and his wife attended German (now Baldwin) Wallace College at Berea, Ohio, where he studied in the Seminary until graduating in 1908. During those years he served as minister to the Grace Mennonite (GCM) Church at Pandora and the Sterling Mennonite (GCM) Church at Sterling, Ohio.
On 20 September 1908, the Penners were ordained missionaries and left for India. On furlough during World War I, he did mission work in Los Angeles and served the Whosoever-Will Mennonite Church 1918-21, after which he returned to India. Besides his evangelistic activities and missionary work, he was also the secretary-treasurer of the mission for 25 years. In 1949 he retired after 40 years of service. He died at his home in Hillsboro, 2 February 1953.
| Author(s) | Cornelius Krahn |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius. "Penner, Peter William (1876-1953)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Penner,_Peter_William_(1876-1953)&oldid=104484.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius. (1959). Penner, Peter William (1876-1953). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Penner,_Peter_William_(1876-1953)&oldid=104484.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 135. All rights reserved.
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