The Kalona Mennonite Church, Kalona, Iowa, USA, had its origins in 1956 when the East Union Mennonite Church decided that summer to hold worship services for its town members in the former Baptist Church in Kalona. Crowded conditions at the East Union facility prompted the decision. East Union approved organizing a separate congregation in Kalona in June 1958. The Kalona Mennonite Church was then organized in July 1958. It joined the Iowa-Nebraska Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC) the following month.

The East Union ministers initially served the congregation. Eugene Garber, a member of the Iowa Mennonite School faculty, was licensed to the ministry and installed as pastor of the Kalona congregation on 9 October 1958.

Because of rapid expansion, Kalona Mennonite built a new church building in 1966.

As part of the realignment of the Mennonite Church (MC) and General Conference Mennonite Church into Mennonite Church USA, Kalona Mennonite was among the congregations that joined the new Central Plains Mennonite Conference in 2000.

The congregation suffered a tragedy in 2012 when Mick Murray, one of its ministers, was killed in an automobile accident along with his wife.

In 2023 the congregation remained part of the Central Plains Conference of Mennonite Church USA.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	May 2023

"Bro. Eugene Garber...." Gospel Herald 51, no. 45 (11 November 1958): 1072

"The East Union congregation...." Gospel Herald 49, no. 27 (3 July 1956): 636.

"The Kalona, Iowa, Church...." Gospel Herald 51, no. 31 (5 August 1958): 744.

Miller, Marcus. "Mick and Julie Murray leave a legacy of faithfulness." Scattered Seeds (April 2012): 2.

"Organizing a congregation at Kalona,..." Gospel Herald 51, no. 25 (24 June 1958): 592.

Yoder, Holly Blosser. The same spirit: History of Iowa-Nebraska Mennonites. Freeman, S.D.: Central Plains Mennonite Conference, 2003.

Additional Information

Address: 902 Sixth Street, Kalona, Iowa 52247

Phone: 319-656-2736

Website: https://kalonamennonitechurch.com/

Denominational Affiliations: Central Plains Mennonite Conference

Mennonite Church USA

Pastoral Leaders at Kalona Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
East Union Ministers	1956-1958
Eugene C. Garber (1925-2003)	1958-1965
Richard Lichty	1965-1966
John P. Duerksen (1913-2006)	1967-1968?
Carl L. Smeltzer	1969-1979
Howard Keim	1979-1987
Elton Nussbaum (Associate)	1980-1991?
David L. Groh	1988-1999?
Scott Swartzendruber	1992-2019?
Mickey K. Murray (1965-2012)	1995-2012
Jeff Miller (Interim)	2012-2014
Joshua D. Lundberg	2015-

Membership at Kalona Mennonite Church

Year	Membership
1958	130
1960	141
1970	201
1980	253
1990	311
2000	307
2009	349
2020	337

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

Kalona Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), Kalona, Iowa, was organized in July 1958. Two years earlier the Baptist church building, then vacated, was rented to the East Union Mennonite Church for a year and services were begun as a branch of the mother congregation which was becoming somewhat crowded. It was served by the East Union ministers for several years, but is now an organized congregation in the Iowa-Nebraska Mennonite Conference. The charter membership was 130, with Eugene Garber as licensed minister.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Kalona Mennonite Church (Kalona, Iowa, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2023. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kalona_Mennonite_Church_(Kalona,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=175586.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (May 2023). Kalona Mennonite Church (Kalona, Iowa, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kalona_Mennonite_Church_(Kalona,_Iowa,_USA)&oldid=175586.

Kalona Mennonite Church (Kalona, Iowa, USA)

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