Alden Christian Fellowship (Alden, New York, USA)
The Alden Mennonite Church, Alden, New York, was rooted in the arrival of families in 1922-1923 from Lewis County, New York, Huron County, Michigan, and Waterloo County, Ontario. Others came from Ohio and Louisiana. These included Bishop John K. Bontrager, who had been ordained as a member of the Old Order Amish but had affiliated with the Conservative Mennonite Conference.
Bontrager organized the Alden congregation in 1925, with 25 members; it became known as the Bontrager church. Initially, the group met in a schoolhouse and later in the Millgrove Baptist Church and Town Line Methodist Church before building its own meetinghouse in 1927. When it met in the Methodist building, it was called the Town Line Church. In 1994, the congregation moved from West Main Street to a new, larger facility on Two Rod Road. The former building was eventually converted to multi-family apartments.
In the 1970s, the Alden Mennonite Church became part of the New York State Fellowship of the Mennonite Church (MC) while retaining its affiliation with the Conservative Mennonite Conference. By 1985, the congregation identified solely with the New York Fellowship (Mennonite Church) and ended its affiliation with the Conservative Mennonite Conference.
In 2019, Alden Mennonite Church withdrew from the New York Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. It became affiliated with LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches.
In September 2024, the congregation voted to change its name to Alden Christian Fellowship.
Bibliography
Miller, Ivan J. History of the Conservative Mennonite Conference, 1910-1985. Grantsville, Md: I. J. Miller, 1985: 188-190.
Schmidt, Don. "Alden Mennonite Church history." 2016. Web. 13 September 2024. https://www.aldenmennonite.org/wp-content/uploads/sermons/2016/12/Church-History-2016-Power-Point.pdf.
Additional Information
Address: 923 Two Rod Road, Alden, New York 14004
Telephone: 716-937-6436
Website: https://aldenmennonite.org/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches (2019- )
New York Mennonite Conference (1974-2019)
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2019)
Pastoral Leaders at Alden Christian Fellowship
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| John K. Bontrager (1884-1978)(Bishop) | 1925-1946 |
| Noah D. Miller (1891-1976) | 1932-1945 |
| Joseph J. Miller (1902-1974) | 1942-1962 |
| David P. Beachy (1916-2022) (Bishop) |
1945-1948 1948-1984 |
| Joseph F. Baer (1925-2014) (Bishop) |
1969-1974 1974-1987 |
| Daniel Yutzy (1928- ) | 1966-1972 |
| Titus F. Kauffman (1937-2022) | 1972-1995 |
| Thomas A. Beachy (1948- ) | 1980-1990? |
| Douglas Slabach (Assistant) | 1990-1993 |
| Jeffrey House | 1995-1998 |
| James Meador | 1998-2000 |
| Philip Martin | 2001-2017 |
| Dale A. Meyers (Youth/Associate) | 1999-2009 |
| David Gehman | 2017?-2019 |
| Larry Malakie (Interim) | 2020-2021 |
| Lay Leadership | 2021- |
Alden Christian Fellowship Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1925 | 25 |
| 1933 | 100 |
| 1940 | 125 |
| 1950 | 135 |
| 1960 | 150 |
| 1970 | 172 |
| 1980 | 123 |
| 1990 | 154 |
| 2000 | 157 |
| 2009 | 119 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By John K. Bontrager. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 42. All rights reserved.
Alden Conservative Amish Mennonite Church, located one mile west of Alden, Erie County, New York, was organized in 1925 with about twenty-five members. In 1922 and soon after, settlers moved into this new section from various states and also from Canada. Services were held in the Millgrove and Town Line Methodist churches. A new meetinghouse was built in 1927. The 1953 membership was 160. Ministers who served this congregation prior to the mid-1950s are John Bontrager, John Helmuth, Noah D. Miller, Joseph J. Miller and David Beachy. In 1934 a branch Sunday school was established near Williamsville, New York, where ten years later a new mission building was erected. Here the average attendance is forty, with Preacher Richard Bender in charge. David Beachy is the present Alden bishop, with Joe Miller assistant minister
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | September 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Alden Christian Fellowship (Alden, New York, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2024. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Alden_Christian_Fellowship_(Alden,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=179669.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (September 2024). Alden Christian Fellowship (Alden, New York, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Alden_Christian_Fellowship_(Alden,_New_York,_USA)&oldid=179669.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.