Silverwood Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA)
Silver Street Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite Church), located in Clinton Township, Elkhart County, Indiana, a member of the Central District, was organized by former members of the Clinton Frame Amish Mennonite Church in Indiana. Due to a number of disagreements regarding church government and ordinances, particularly the prayer covering and the bonnet, in early 1892 the congregation divided into two groups, conservative and progressive, the progressive being the minority group, but including the bishop, Benjamin Schrock. The two groups used the same building for worship services for some months until June 1892, the progressive group using it on Sunday afternoon. The climax came when the progressive group invited Joseph Stucky and Peter Tschantz of Illinois to hold meetings for two weeks in June. On 23 October 1892, the progressive group dedicated a new meetinghouse, the membership being 87, and Benjamin Schrock the pastor, with Jacob Smoker, Daniel Smoker, and Christian Mehl as deacons. The name Silver Street Mennonite Church was adopted. In 1893 J. C. Mehl was asked to provide services in the Topeka area and within the first year a new congregation had begun, members coming from the Silver Street mother church and from the Topeka area. In 1913 a second offspring was born when Alvin K. Ropp, then pastor of the church, organized the Eighth Street Mennonite Church in Goshen. By this time the church had joined the Central Illinois Conference. The Silver Street congregation reached its peak of 250 members in 1924 under the leadership of Allen Yoder. In 1958 it had 130 members.
The Silver Street church has had the following pastors besides Benjamin Schrock 1892: John C. Mehl 1892-1906, M. A. Niswander 1906-1911, A. K. Ropp 1911-1913, Allen Yoder 1913-1935, Harry Yoder 1935-1941, Robert Hartzler 1942-1945, H. E. Nunemaker 1946-1953, William Klassen 1953-1954, Daniel Graber 1954- .
| Author(s) | Daniel J Graber |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Graber, Daniel J. "Silverwood Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Silverwood_Mennonite_Church_(Goshen,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=104302.
APA style
Graber, Daniel J. (1959). Silverwood Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Silverwood_Mennonite_Church_(Goshen,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=104302.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 528. All rights reserved.
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