Charity Committee (Western District, General Conference Mennonite Church)
Charity Committee (originally called Poor Relief Committee, then Relief Committee) of the Western District of the General Conference Mennonite Church was a committee whose primary responsibility was the aid and support of such destitute persons within the geographical limits of the Western District as were not provided for by individual churches. Its work began in 1893 when David Goerz, chairman of the Western District Conference, appointed a committee whose immediate purpose it should be to provide seed wheat for Mennonite settlers in Hodgeman County, Kansas. The committee was also authorized to give other aid as needed. The following year this committee became permanent. It was originally called the Poor Relief Committee, then the Relief committee (in 1915). It became the Charity Committee in 1945. Its total receipts in 1958 amounted to $1,507.
The Charity Committee was abolished in 1965. The Peace and Service Committee continued some aspect of the Charity Committee's work for at least a decade.
Bibliography
Haury, David A. Prairie People: a History of the Western District Conference. Newton, KS: Faith and Life Press, 1981: 154-156, 364-365.
| Author(s) | John F. Schmidt |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | March 2010 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Schmidt, John F. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Charity Committee (Western District, General Conference Mennonite Church)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2010. Web. 23 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Charity_Committee_(Western_District,_General_Conference_Mennonite_Church)&oldid=165673.
APA style
Schmidt, John F. and Samuel J. Steiner. (March 2010). Charity Committee (Western District, General Conference Mennonite Church). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Charity_Committee_(Western_District,_General_Conference_Mennonite_Church)&oldid=165673.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1072. All rights reserved.
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