Emma Church (Topeka, Indiana, USA)
The Emma Mennonite Church (named after the Emma community in Lagrange County, Indiana) began in 1901 as an outpost of the Shore Mennonite Church. Rudy E. Hostetler sold land to the Mennonite Church of Emma on 8 April 1901. The congregation built a meetinghouse the same year.
The church began a Sunday school in 1902 and Young People's Bible Meetings in 1903. A sewing circle began in 1918.
The congregation added a basement to the meetinghouse in 1926 and built an annex in 1949.
The Emma Mennonite Church established an outpost in Plato, east of Lagrange, in 1948. It purchased land and built a meetinghouse at that time.
In 2001, the congregation began to support Menno-Clinic, a health clinic in Chilivuru, India. In 2007, it added an eye/dental clinic at Menno-Clinic.
In 2016/17, the Emma Mennonite Church left the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. This move was part of a larger realignment 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. The Emma congregation became part of the Evana Network and subsequently changed its name to Emma Church.
Bibliography
Hartman, Gene. "Emma Mennonite." Gospel Evangel 87, no. 6 (October 2006): 2-3.
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 308.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 114-115.
Additional Information
Address: 1900 S 600 W, Topeka, Indiana 46571
Phone: 260-593-2036
Website: https://www.emmamc.org/home
Denominational Affiliations: Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (Until 2016)
Mennonite Church USA (2002-2016)
Evana Network (2016- )
Pastoral Leaders at Emma Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Shore Mennonite Church Ministers |
1901-1902 |
| Oscar S. Hostetler (1874-1967) (Bishop) |
1902-1923 1923-1960? |
| Menno J. Yoder (1874-1957) | 1923-1957 |
| Amos O. Hostetler (1901-1993) | 1944-1977 |
| Ivan M. Miller (1906-1994)(Bishop) | 1953-1977 |
| Kenneth Bontreger | 1972-1979? |
| Etril J. Leinbach (1910-2006)(Bishop) | 1980-1986 |
| John C. Murray | 1987?-1999 |
| Ellis B. Croyle (1930-2006)(Interim) | 1999-2000 |
| Gene A. Hartman | 2000- |
| Galen Mast (Youth) | 2002-2003 |
| Derrick Ramer (Youth) | 2010-2014 |
Emma Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1905 | 60 |
| 1913 | 53 |
| 1920 | 79 |
| 1930 | 149 |
| 1940 | 194 |
| 1950 | 230 |
| 1960 | 214 |
| 1970 | 181 |
| 1980 | 196 |
| 1990 | 236 |
| 2000 | 303 |
| 2009 | 186 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Amos O. Hostetler. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 203. All rights reserved.
Emma Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), five miles (eight km) north of Topeka, Lagrange County, Indiana, was organized in 1901, with 40 charter members formerly belonging to the Shore and Forks congregations. The church was a member of the Indiana-Michigan Conference. The first minister was O. S. Hostetler and the first deacon Menno J. Yoder, both ordained 15 October 1902. Hostetler served as bishop starting in 1923, and Yoder as minister starting in 1923. On 29 June 1924, Amos O. Hostetler was ordained to serve as deacon and on 3 September 1944 he was ordained minister. On 1 April 1945, Ivan Miller was ordained deacon and March 1954, bishop. The membership in 1953 was 205. A new church was built in the Plato community five miles (eight km) east of Lagrange, where a number of the members were located and organized a separate congregation.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | May 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Emma Church (Topeka, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2024. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Emma_Church_(Topeka,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179185.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (May 2024). Emma Church (Topeka, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Emma_Church_(Topeka,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179185.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.