Eden Mennonite Church (Moundridge, Kansas, USA)
Eden Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA), located at 401 18th Avenue, Moundridge, Kansas (four miles west, two miles north of Moundridge), was organized in 1895 as the Hoffnungsfeld-Eden Mennonite Church; this was changed in 1924 to the present name. The congregation joined the Western District Conference in 1895 and the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1896.
n 1882 the Hoffnungsfeld (Hopefield) Congregation erected a church three and one-half miles west and one-half mile north of present-day Moundridge. In 1895 differences within the group led to the formation of a second congregation known as Hoffnungsfeld-Eden. For several years the two groups worshiped in the same building on alternate Sundays, but in June, 1898 this new congregation dedicated its own worship center located one-half mile west of the original church building.
As the need for larger facilities became apparent, the congregation moved to a new building at the present site. At this time the congregational name was changed to Eden Mennonite Church. This building was enlarged and remodeled in 1949. The church maintained an Activity Center, which includes a gym, kitchen and meeting rooms, located one-half mile south of the church site, utilizing the facilities originally designed for a 4-teacher rural school.
On 25 January 1988 the Eden church building was totally destroyed by fire. The congregation voted to rebuild at the same location and ground-breaking took place on 21 August 1988. During the two intervening years worship services were held at Moundridge High School. Dedication of the new meeting-house was held 25 March 1990.
Ministers who served the church up to 1955 were Peter M. Krehbiel, Peter Stucky, C. J. Goering, Phil Wedel, and Walter Gering, the latter serving as elder 1937-1950. C. J. Goering served as elder 1901-1937. The congregation is of Swiss background, having immigrated to the present location in 1874 from Volhynia, Russia, where they were a part of four main communities formed by settlers from France, the Palatinate, and Switzerland. The most common names in 1955 were Goering, Kaufman, Krehbiel, Schrag, Stucky, Waltner, Wedel, and Zerger. The membership in 1955 was 777. Peter J. Dyck accepted the call as pastor of the church in 1950.
Bibliography
Eden Mennonite Church Historical Committee. "Church History." Web. 12 August 2007. http://edenmennonite.org/Historical_Committee.
Additional Information
Eden Mennonite Church website
| Author(s) | William Gering |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Gering, William. "Eden Mennonite Church (Moundridge, Kansas, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Eden_Mennonite_Church_(Moundridge,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=91633.
APA style
Gering, William. (1956). Eden Mennonite Church (Moundridge, Kansas, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Eden_Mennonite_Church_(Moundridge,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=91633.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 146. All rights reserved.
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