Peace Community Mennonite Church (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
The Detroit Mennonite Mission in Detroit, Michigan, had its roots when Bishop Peter Ropp of Imlay City, Michigan, temporarily resided in Detroit in 1926 in a search for employment. He envisioned a Mennonite church in Detroit and encouraged the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Mission Board to launch a mission. The board licensed Clarence C. King to start such a mission. King had experience at the Canton, Ohio, mission.
The Indiana-Michigan Board built a small meetinghouse in 1927; it was enlarged in 1935. In 1930, the Indiana-Michigan Board turned the mission over to the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities, making it a churchwide mission station. The Board rented accommodations for its workers until 1938 when it purchased the property where the workers lived.
By the 1970s, the community around the church became more heavily African American in its demographic. Detroit Mennonite members were actively involved in Challenge House, a drug rehabilitation center on which the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference placed a board member. Julius Dodson, the African American director of Challenge House, became the assistant pastor at Detroit Mennonite.
In about 1979, the congregation changed its name to Peace Community Mennonite Church.
In 2006, the church operated a Peace Food Pantry that served up to 100,000 people each year, mostly seniors, and was considered an emergency food provider in Detroit. It also supported a children's center that provided food and clothing. By this time, no ethnic white Mennonites remained part of the congregation.
Bibliography
Childs, Evelyn. "Peace Community Mennonite." Gospel Evangel 87, no. 5 (September 2006): 7-8.
Eash, Sanford. "A day in the life of a conference secretary." Gospel Herald 71, no. 31 (8 August 1978): 597-598.
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 140, 142, 311.M
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 241-242.
Additional Information
Address: 15800 Curtis Street, Detroit, Michigan 48235
Telephone: 313-273-7999
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Peace Community Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Clarence C. King (1895-1976) | 1927-1930 |
| Frank B. Raber (1898-1964) | 1930-1950 |
| Jacob "J. Frederick" Erb (1922-1985) (Bishop) |
1950-1953 1953-1955 |
| Clarence "C. Nevin" Miller (1927-1993) | 1956-1959 |
| Henry Wyse (1894-1985)(Bishop) | 1960-1965 |
| Carl H. Stahl (1930-2023) | 1965-1966 |
| James L. Norton | 1966-1970 |
| Sylvan "S. Jay" Hostetler (1901-1978) | 1970-1971 |
| Jonas L. Hostetler (1923-2012) | 1971-1976 |
| Charles Jones | 1976-1980 |
| Julius Dodson (1939-2020) | 1978-1983 |
| Eugene Seals | 1983-1984 |
| Evelyn E. Childs (1928-2012) | 1983-2012 |
| Bonita Eileen Childs | 2003- |
Peace Community Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1930 | 21 |
| 1940 | 60 |
| 1950 | 55 |
| 1960 | 35 |
| 1970 | 23 |
| 1980 | 42 |
| 1990 | 42 |
| 2000 | 40 |
| 2009 | 61 |
| 2020 | 15 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Frank B. Raber. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 40. All rights reserved.
Detroit (Mich.) Mennonite Gospel Mission (Mennonite Church (MC)), known locally as the Detroit Mennonite Church, located 15559 Curtis Avel, was begun in 1926 by Mennonites who came to the city to secure employment. In 1927 the Indiana-Michigan Conference took over the work and built a small church. It 1930, it was transferred to the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities. Over 100 persons have been baptized in the mission. The 1954 membership was 38. F. B. Raber was pastor, 1930-1950, J. F. Erb, 1950-1956, and C. Nevin Miller, 1956- .
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | July 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Peace Community Mennonite Church (Detroit, Michigan, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2024. Web. 22 Jul 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Peace_Community_Mennonite_Church_(Detroit,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179319.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (July 2024). Peace Community Mennonite Church (Detroit, Michigan, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 July 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Peace_Community_Mennonite_Church_(Detroit,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179319.
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