Salem Mennonite Church (New Paris, Indiana, USA)
Fifty-two Frisian Mennonites and non-Mennonites from Balk, Friesland, settled in Elkhart County, Indiana in 1853. The group included Minister R. J. Sijmensma and Bishop R. J. Smid. They worshiped in Frisian every four weeks in homes, schoolhouses, and sometimes in the Christophel meetinghouse of the Yellow Creek Mennonite Church because they had been assisted by Minister Jacob Christophel (1782-1868) of that congregation. They also sometimes worshiped jointly with the Christophel German-speaking Mennonites.
The "Holland" Mennonites built their own meetinghouse in 1889 and opened it on 28 July 1889. After its erection, the congregation was composed of Mennonites both of Frisian and Ekhart County "Old" Mennonites. The congregation enlarged the church in 1919 and added a basement. In 1940 it also added Sunday school rooms.
A distinguishing characteristic of the Salem congregation was the baptism of new members in streams. The church initiated Sunday school immediately after completing its 1889 building. In 1908, the congregation began to meet for church and Sunday school every week. Young People's Bible Meetings began around 1912, and a women's sewing circle began about 1910.
During World War II, the Salem congregation generously supported its men serving in Civilian Public Service. It gave them $180 per month, plus $6 per month served when they returned home.
In 1961, five members of the Salem Mennonite Church withdrew over concerns about the use of television, higher education, competitive athletics, and other topics.
When the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference approved the ordination of women in 1981, Salem Mennonite Church and its daughter congregations, Toto Mennonite and Milford Chapel, withdrew from the conference. Salem Mennonite then became an independent Mennonite congregation. It had already declined receipt of the conference periodical in the 1970s and no longer supported the Indiana Mennonite Relief Sale.
Bibliography
Preheim, Rich. In Pursuit of Faithfulness: Conviction, Conflict, and Compromise in Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. Harrisonburg, Va.: Herald Press, 2016: 32, 151-152, 169, 259-261, 311.
Wenger, John Christian. The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1961: 97-100.
Yoder, Marie. "The Balk Dutch Settlement near Goshen, Indiana, 1853-1889." Mennonite Quarterly Review 30 (1936): 32-43.
Additional Information
Address: 23984 County Road 46, New Paris, Indiana 46553
Telephone: 574-831-2803
Website: https://salemmennonite.church/
Denominational Affiliations:
Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference (Until 1981)
Mennonite Church (MC) (Until 1981)
Pastoral Leaders at Salem Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Ruurd Jacobs Sijmensma (1816-1854) | 1853-1854 |
| Ruurd J. Smid (1816-1893)(Bishop) | 1853-1893 |
| Yellow Creek ministers | 1893-1905 |
| John H. Bare (1869-1930) | 1905-1930 |
| Ray F. Yoder (1893-1963) (Bishop) |
1918-1947 1947-1960 |
| Francis E. Freed (1893-1977) | 1939-1961 |
| William R. McGrath (1931-2015) | 1954 |
| Harold D. Myers (1914-1974) (Bishop) |
1957-1960 1960-1974 |
| Floyd L. Stutzman (1931-1983) | 1970-1983 |
| William E. Yoder (Bishop) |
1975-1977 1977-2006 |
| Naaman S. Martin (1925-2018) | 1975-1993 |
| Jerry A. Helmuth | 1994-2013 |
| G. Terrill Yoder (Bishop) |
1998-2006 2006- |
| DeWayne Martin | 2007-2022 |
| Kevin Martin | 2013- |
| Gary Martin | 2022- |
Salem Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1885 | 65 |
| 1905 | 75 |
| 1913 | 70 |
| 1920 | 62 |
| 1930 | 89 |
| 1940 | 147 |
| 1950 | 145 |
| 1960 | 182 |
| 1970 | 243 |
| 1980 | 274 |
| 1990 | 217 |
| 1997 | 222 |
| 2007 | 145 |
| 2024 | 155 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ray F. Yoder. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 405. All rights reserved.
Salem Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), located one-half mile south and five miles west of New Paris, Elkhart County, Indiana, a member of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, was organized by R. J. Smid (1814-1893) in 1889. About one-half of the charter members were Mennonite immigrants from Balk, Friesland, Netherlands, who had arrived in 1853 and had held Dutch services in homes and schoolhouses, and also attended German services in the Christophel Mennonite church, an alternate meeting place for the Yellow Creek Mennonite Church. The meetinghouse was built in 1889 and enlarged in 1919.
Ministers of the congregation have been R. J. Smid (Schmidt), J. H. Bare (ordained 1906), Ray F. Yoder, the present bishop (ordained 1918), Francis E. Freed (ordained 1939), and Harold D. Myers, the present ministers (1958). The membership is 166.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Salem Mennonite Church (New Paris, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2024. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Mennonite_Church_(New_Paris,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179394.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2024). Salem Mennonite Church (New Paris, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Mennonite_Church_(New_Paris,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=179394.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.