White Cloud Mennonite Church (White Cloud, Michigan, USA)
The first Mennonite settlers in Newaygo County, Michigan, arrived in 1896 from Lagrange County, Indiana, where they were part of the Shore congregation near Shipshewana. Soon, other families from Shore joined them; by late 1897, there were 19 Mennonite families in the area.
In 1898, the local Mennonites organized a Sunday school. Bishop P. Y. Lehman and Deacon James J. Mishler organized a congregation east of White Cloud on 21 May 1899 with 27 members. On 1 July 1900, John F. Funk ordained Jacob P. Miller as minister for the congregation.
Initially, the congregation met in the Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse, and later, as more Mennonite settlers arrived, in the Union Church. Consequently, for many years, the congregation was also known as the Union Mennonite Church.
On 4 June 1911, lightning struck the Union Church, and it burned down. The White Oak Mennonites used the new Union meetinghouse until 1925. The congregation then moved to a Congregational church building in Big Prairie Center until 1937, when it returned to the Union building. In December 1947, the White Cloud congregation decided to build its own meetinghouse on donated land southeast of White Cloud. It first used the new building in August 1949 when it was still incomplete. The church was finally dedicated on 18 May 1952. A fire on Christmas Day in 1956 caused severe damage; the repairs added some improvements to the building.
When the congregation lost members beginning in the 1910s, the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Mission Board provided oversight, lasting until 1947.
After the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference replaced its 1956 handbook with a new constitution in 1969, regulations and discipline were relaxed. This included dress regulations, temperance, the prohibition of divorce and remarriage, etc. This caused consternation among more conservative congregations. White Cloud was among several congregations that withdrew from the conference, doing so in 1974. After that time, it became an unaffiliated Mennonite church.
White Cloud Mennonite has also operated its own parochial school for many years.
Bibliography
Beechy, Winifred Nelson. "History of the White Cloud Mennonite Church." Mennonite Historical Bulletin (July 1952): 1-4.
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 183, 260, 312.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 155-158.
Additional Information
Address: 1506 South Walnut Avenue, White Cloud, Michigan
Telephone: 231-689-0928
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (Until 1974)
Mennonite Church (MC) (Until 1974)
Pastoral Leaders at White Cloud Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Visiting Ministers | 1898-1900 |
| Jacob P. Miller (1850-1927) (Bishop) |
1900-1901 1901-1911 |
| John C. Springer (1871-1910) | 1904-1908 |
| Thomas U. Nelson (1870-1950) | 1909-1950 |
| Edward D. Jones (1906-1981) (Bishop) |
1935-1974 1974-1981 |
| Lavern J. Swartz (1937-2022) | 1964-1972 |
| Howard R. Burkholder (1934-2018) | 1974-1981 |
| David E. Kuhns (1929-2009) | 1981-1999? |
| Richard G. Near (1931-2015) | 1991?-2012? |
| Mark Richey | 1999-2008? |
| Paul Burkholder | 2009- |
White Cloud Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1899 | 27 |
| 1907 | 90 |
| 1920 | 55 |
| 1930 | 34 |
| 1940 | 57 |
| 1950 | 69 |
| 1960 | 53 |
| 1970 | 57 |
| 1980 | 43 |
| 1990 | 43 |
| 1997 | 41 |
| 2007 | 41 |
| 2014 | 41 |
| 2024 | 24 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By John C. Wenger. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 939-940. All rights reserved.
White Cloud Mennonite Church, located one mile southeast of White Cloud, Michigan, is in the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Mennonite families from the Shore congregation in Lagrange County, Indiana, began moving into the area in 1896. Regular Sunday-school services were started in a schoolhouse in 1898 and the next year Bishop P. Y. Lehman of Indiana organized a congregation of 22 charter members. In 1900, when the congregation had grown to 35 members, Bishop John F. Funk ordained Jacob P. Miller (1850-1927) to the ministry. On 1 May 1901, P. Y. Lehman ordained him as bishop. In 1903 the congregation began to worship in a building known as the Union Church, and for a time was known by this name. After 1910 J. P. Miller was no longer located at White Cloud, and T. U. Nelson (1870-1950) became the longtime preacher, having been ordained by Miller on 5 December 1910.
The pastor of the church in 1958 was Edward D. Jones, and the membership was 54.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "White Cloud Mennonite Church (White Cloud, Michigan, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2024. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=White_Cloud_Mennonite_Church_(White_Cloud,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179552.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2024). White Cloud Mennonite Church (White Cloud, Michigan, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=White_Cloud_Mennonite_Church_(White_Cloud,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179552.
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