Grand Marais Mennonite Church (Grand Marais, Michigan, USA)
The Grand Marais Mennonite Church, located in Grand Marais, Michigan, on the southern shore of Lake Superior, began with Summer Bible Schools in 1945 and 1946. In 1948, Bruce Handrich conducted another Bible school, after which he started a Sunday school. The Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Mission Board then ordained Willard D. Handrich to pastor the Grand Marais mission.
The group met in the Grand Marais town hall until 1954, when a new meetinghouse was dedicated on 10 October 1954.
The congregation was the only Protestant church in Grand Marais with a resident minister. This led to conflict with Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference polity in 1957 when a regular summer attendee who belonged to a Baptist church in Detroit was refused communion by the officiating bishop. Pastor Willard Handrich strongly disagreed with this decision. Beginning in 1961, Handrich was allowed to serve communion himself (without an officiating bishop), which resulted in more open communion practices locally.
In 2010, the small congregation built a fellowship hall that doubled as a community emergency shelter, especially in winter. It also served as a certified Red Cross training center for a community with up to 300 inches of snow per year.
Bibliography
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 182, 204-206, 309.
Robinson, Laurie Oswald. "Providing shelter in the storm: Grand Marais prepares to serve rural neighbors." Gospel Evangel 97, no. 5 (October-December 2016): 3.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 254.
Additional Information
Address: N14257 Campbell Street, Grand Marais, Michigan 49839
Telephone: 906-494-3777
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Grand Marais Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Willard D. Handrich (1916-2006) | 1948-1981? |
| Lay Leadership | 1981-1983 |
| John M. Miller | 1983-1993? |
| LeRoy Mast | 1994-1998? |
| Lay Leadership | 1998-1999 |
| Elno W. Steiner (1924-2009)(Interim) | 1999-2002? |
| Stephen Post | 2002?-2016 |
| Philip E. Bontrager | 2016-2021 |
| Joetta Handrich Schlabach & Gerald Schlabach |
2021?-present |
Grand Marais Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1952 | 5 |
| 1960 | 5 |
| 1970 | 10 |
| 1980 | 21 |
| 1990 | 22 |
| 2000 | 8 |
| 2009 | 12 |
| 2020 | 20 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | June 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Grand Marais Mennonite Church (Grand Marais, Michigan, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2024. Web. 3 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Grand_Marais_Mennonite_Church_(Grand_Marais,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179072.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (June 2024). Grand Marais Mennonite Church (Grand Marais, Michigan, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 3 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Grand_Marais_Mennonite_Church_(Grand_Marais,_Michigan,_USA)&oldid=179072.
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