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The Raleigh Mennonite Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, began in 1986. The Virginia Mennonite Conference and the Durham Mennonite Church launched the congregation. Worship services began in August 1986 at the local YWCA; the congregation formally organized in December 1986. Marilyn and John Bender initially served as copastors.

The Raleigh Mennonite Church has continued to rent space throughout its history. In the mid-1990s, it met at the Building Together/Neighbor Center on North Blount Street. In 2022 it began to meet on the third floor of the Church of the Good Shepherd, an Episcopalian congregation.

The congregation has been actively engaged in community and social issues throughout its history. Member Sriprakash Mayasandra began a ministry to international students at local universities in 1990. Then the congregation began the Jubilee Peace Center in 1994. One of its programs provided mediation services to help resolve neighborhood conflicts. Raleigh Mennonite sponsored a Service Adventure program beginning in 1997. The congregation also instituted the local Ten Thousand Villages store in 1995. This grew out of the annual holiday sales the church sponsored beginning in 1988 of what was then the MCC Self-Help Crafts of the World.

Raleigh Mennonite was part of the Virginia Mennonite Conference from its beginning. It joined the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1989. After the formation of Mennonite Church USA, it remained part of the Virginia Mennonite Conference.

In 2018 the congregation requested the transfer of its membership to the Central District Conference, which was more open to the congregation's desire for greater inclusion of LGBTQ relationships.

In 2023 the congregation remained part of the Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	March 2023

"A new congregation in Raleigh, N.C." Gospel Herald 80, no. 8 (24 February 1987): 140.

Bender, Marilyn, et al. "It is not a social experiment." Gospel Herald 90, no. 36 (16 September 1997): 3-4.

Derthick, Steve, Dennis Boos, and Thomas Lehman. "Peer mediation training brings young people together to learn how to solve conflicts peacefully." Gospel Herald 89, no. 4 (23 January 1996): 10.

Martin, Stan North. "GAMEO article on Raleigh Mennonite Church." Personal emails (15 March 2023).

Shimron, Yonat. "Making the move from suburb to city." Gospel Herald 90, no. 36 (16 September 1997): 1-5.

Trotter, Jon. "Delegates release two congregations." Pathways 3, no. 4 (Spring 2018): 4.

Additional Information

Meeting Address: Church of the Good Shepherd, 121 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603

Phone: 919-831-2969

Website: https://www.raleighmennonite.org/

Denominational Affiliations: Central District Conference

Mennonite Church USA

Pastoral Leaders at Raleigh Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
Marilyn H. Bender	1987-2004
John P. Bender (1954-2016)	1987-2004
Alan Reberg (Community Development)	1997-2019
Joseph E. Bontrager (Interim)	2004-2005
Mauricio W. Chenlo (Peace Director & Youth)	2001-2010
Duane E. Beck	2005-2016
Melissa A. Florer-Bixler	2016-
Rachel Taylor (Intergenerational)	2018-

Membership at Raleigh Mennonite Church

Year	Membership
1988	19
1990	28
2000	73
2007	60
2020	57

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Raleigh Mennonite Church (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2023. Web. 18 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Raleigh_Mennonite_Church_(Raleigh,_North_Carolina,_USA)&oldid=175108.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2023). Raleigh Mennonite Church (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Raleigh_Mennonite_Church_(Raleigh,_North_Carolina,_USA)&oldid=175108.

Raleigh Mennonite Church (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)

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