The Eden Mennonite Church south of Burns, Kansas, USA was established in 1940. The congregation started when the first families moved to the area in 1938 from elsewhere in Kansas and Texas because of drought, dust storms, and the Depression. John J. Koehn of the Lone Tree congregation was the first to purchase land.

Initially, the group worshipped in a small building four miles north of Burns. Soon they moved to a community building in Burns, and in 1941 moved to the former United Brethren building in Burns. The congregation, then known as the Burns Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, later purchased the church for $400. The first local ministers were Ernest Wiggers and Jacob Yost, who moved to the vicinity in 1941.

The Mennonite arrivals continued to farm on depleted land but introduced terracing, crop rotation, and fertilizer use. Wheat and milo became cash crops, along with dairying, beef cattle, and hogs. Some supplemented income with carpentry and factory work.

In 1950 a building fund began, and plans were made to erect a church south of Burns on donated land. The church then registered as the Eden Mennonite Church and Cemetery Association. Construction began in 1952, and the new church was dedicated on 9 March 1952. Extensive remodeling took place in 1968, with further remodeling and additions in 1975 and 1994.

The Eden Christian School began in 1968 in the church basement. A three-classroom school was built in 1977; it was enlarged in 1989.

In 2020 the congregation was part of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. The ministers were Darwin Schmidt and Roland Koehn.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	January 2021

Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. Yearbook (1996-2020).

Histories of the congregations. 3rd. ed. Moundridge, Kansas: Gospel Publishers, 1999: 263-268.

Additional Information

Address: 14963 N.W. Boyer Road, Burns, Kansas 66840

Phone: 620-726-5565

Website:

Denominational Affiliations:

Church of God in Christ, Mennonite

Ordained Pastors at the Eden Mennonite Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
Ernest F. Wiggers (1909-1997)	1941-1949 1952?-1954?
Jacob N. Yost (1890-1974)	1941-1943
Norman M. Eicher (1915-2005)	1948-?
Dennis Smith	1951-1960
Alvin Koehn (1926-2019)	1951-2005
Tobe J. Koehn (1919-2008)	1959-2003
Lester R. Koehn (1932-1993)	1959-1975
Vernon Koehn	1971-2013
Lowell Koehn	1980-2018
Roland Koehn	2001-present
Darwin Schmidt	2018-present

Membership at Eden Mennonite Church

Year	Membership
1955	174
1995	190
2000	191
2010	168
2020	150

Maps

Map:Eden Mennonite Church (Eden, Kansas)

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Articles

The Burns Church of God in Christ, Mennonite Church, located in Burns, Marion County, Kansas, was organized in 1938. Worship services were conducted in several places in the community until a church building was purchased. Ernest F. Wiggers was the preacher in charge in 1953. Allan Schmidt was ordained as deacon in 1945. The church membership was 161, and the Sunday-school enrollment 204 in 1953. The sewing circle was active in supporting missions, hospitals, and relief work.

The congregation sold its meetinghouse in the town of Burns in the early 1950s and built a new meetinghouse three miles (five km) south of the town, at which time it changed its name to Eden Mennonite Church. -- v. 1.

The Eden Mennonite Church (formerly Eden Church of God in Christ Mennonite Church), Burns, Kansas, was formerly known as the Burns church. The congregation sold its meetinghouse in the town of Burns in the early 1950s and built a new meetinghouse south of the town, at which time it changed its name to Eden. In 1955 the membership was 174, with Norman M. Eicher, Dennis Smith, and A. Koehn as ministers. -- v. 2

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Eden Mennonite Church (Burns, Kansas, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2021. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Eden_Mennonite_Church_(Burns,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=170717.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (January 2021). Eden Mennonite Church (Burns, Kansas, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Eden_Mennonite_Church_(Burns,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=170717.

Eden Mennonite Church (Burns, Kansas, USA)

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