Des Allemands Mennonite Church (Des Allemands, Louisiana, USA)
The Des Allemands Mennonite Church at Des Allemands, Louisiana, began in 1918. Eli S. Hallman moved from Alabama to Des Allemands for reasons of health and to pastor a new settlement of four Mennonite families that emerged in late 1917. It appears the congregation met in a local schoolhouse or in homes. It became a member of the Missouri-Kansas Conference (later South Central Conference) of the Mennonite Church (MC) in 1922. The congregation ceased most activity after Christian L. Ressler moved away in 1922 or 1923 and met "by appointment," according to the Mennonite Yearbook.
A few Mennonite families again moved to Des Allemands in 1936, including the Chester A. Wenger family, which had been one of the earlier settlers. On 9 November 1937, John E. Wenger was ordained as the minister for the congregation that had dropped as low as two members in the early 1930s. The new work was seen as a mission outreach to the Cajun population of the area, along with a Summer Bible School outreach to African Americans. The group met in a small former Presbyterian church in town, which it later purchased for $200 and moved to a different location. It accomplished this with the financial help of the Blooming Glen Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania.
In 1949-1950 the congregation erected a new church building that seemed to stimulate growth. It completed an addition in 1960. It built a new meeting place after dismantling the old one and dedicated it on 11 March 1979.
In 1979, Des Allemands joined the new Gulf States Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC). This brought together geographically proximate congregations that had been linked to a variety of regional Mennonite conferences.
In 2015 the Des Allemands congregation left the Gulf States Mennonite Conference. This move was part of a larger withdrawal of Mennonite congregations in the 2010s that were formerly part of Mennonite Church USA. These congregations were unhappy with Mennonite Church USA's failure to take stronger disciplinary actions against area conferences and congregations that expressed openness to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. Des Allemands continued as a Mennonite congregation associated with the Good News Fellowship.
Bibliography
"Des Allemands gets new meetinghouse." Gospel Herald 72, no. 14 (3 April 1979): 272-273.
Hallman, E. S. "Allemands, La." Gospel Herald 10, no. 51 (21 March 1918): 936.
Histand, A. O. "Our trip to the South." Gospel Herald 30, no. 36 (2 December 1937): 772.
"Ordination at Allemands." Gospel Herald 30, no. 34 (18 November 1937): 729.
Ressler, C. L. "The cause at Allemands." Gospel Herald 14, no. 9 (2 June 1921): 170.
Thibodeauz, Anna. "Mennonites keeping faith in the bayou country." St. Charles Herald-Guide. 9 August 2017. Web. 27 October 2023. https://www.heraldguide.com/news/mennonites-keeping-faith-in-the-bayou-country/.
Wenger, John E. "The mission work at Alleman and at Akers, Louisiana." Gospel Herald (19 April 1949): 374-375.
Additional Information
Address: 17447 Old Spanish Trail, Des Allemands, Louisiana 70030
Phone: 985-758-7550
Website: https://www.facebook.com/p/Des-Allemands-Mennonite-Church-100064585037992/
Denominational Affiliations: Good News Fellowship
Pastoral Leaders at Des Allemands Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Eli S. "E. S." Hallman (1866-1955) | 1918-1920 |
| Christian L. "C. L." Ressler (1879-1958) | 1920-1922 |
| Lay Leadership | 1922-1937 |
| John E. Wenger (1911-1990) | 1937-1977 |
| Lester M. Hackman (1911-1999) | 1955-1990s |
| Edward L. Kauffman | 1956-1959 |
| Robert O. Zehr (1930-2017) | 1977-1999 |
| Marvin LeBlanc | 1983-1996 2006-2007? |
| David W. Roth | 1999-2006? |
| Troy Farris | 2009?-2010? |
| Butch Clay | 2011- |
Des Allemands Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1922 | 16 |
| 1930 | 5 |
| 1940 | 10 |
| 1950 | 39 |
| 1960 | 53 |
| 1970 | 93 |
| 1980 | 95 |
| 1990 | 125 |
| 2000 | 121 |
| 2009 | 56 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Paul Hershey. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 55. All rights reserved.
Allemands Mennonite Church at Allemands, Louisiana, is located thirty miles (50 km) west of New Orleans, Louisiana near U.S. Highway 90, on "The Old Spanish Trail." It is a member of the South Central Conference, and had a membership of 36 in 1953.
A congregation was organized in the spring of 1918 but existed only a few years because nearly all of the members moved away. In the spring of 1936, C. A. Wenger and wife moved back to Allemands. That fall their son and wife and one daughter with her husband moved to Allemands. Shortly after they were established, bishops A. O. Histand, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and E. S. Hallman, Tuleta, Texas, ordained John E. Wenger as minister and Lester Hackman as deacon. With the exception of these two families, all members in 1955 were natives. Nearly all were of Cajun descent and Catholic background.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | October 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Des Allemands Mennonite Church (Des Allemands, Louisiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2023. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Des_Allemands_Mennonite_Church_(Des_Allemands,_Louisiana,_USA)&oldid=177731.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (October 2023). Des Allemands Mennonite Church (Des Allemands, Louisiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Des_Allemands_Mennonite_Church_(Des_Allemands,_Louisiana,_USA)&oldid=177731.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.