West Fairview Mennonite Church (Beaver Crossing, Nebraska, USA)

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West Fairview Mennonite Church in Beaver Crossing, Nebraska on 2 July 1948.
Source: Mennonite Community Photograph Collection, The Congregation (HM4-134 Box 1 photo 010.6-9).
Mennonite Church USA Archives, Goshen, Indiana.
West Fairview Mennonite Church
Source: Tom McLaughlin

West Fairview Mennonite Church, located near Beaver Crossing, Seward County, Nebraska began as an extension Sunday school of the Fairview Mennonite Church prior to 1904, for the benefit of members who lived too far away from the church. These members met in various schools until 1905, when a meetinghouse was built about five miles from the East Fairview meetinghouse. An addition and basement were added to the building in 1919. A new church, 72 x 42 ft, was dedicated in 1956.

John Steckley appeared to be the first local minister for the congregation.[1]

Dale Oswald was among the bishops in the Iowa-Nebraska Conference who took a traditional approach to matters like cut hair for women, wearing jewelry, and ownership of televisions. This served to alienate West Fairview from the conference as more congregations accepted change in those areas. A final straw took place when the conference allowed the Parnell congregation to make its own decision on accepting previously divorced and remarried persons into membership. In 1968, when the Iowa-Nebraska Conference first recognized unordained delegates, the West Fairview congregation withdrew from the conference and became an independent Mennonite congregation.

Notes

  1. Steckley's address was Beaver Crossing, Nebraska by 1902. See the report of the Western Amish Mennonite District meeting of October 10-11, 1902 in Herald of Truth (1 December 1902): 363.

Bibliography

Roth, Ben. "Beaver Crossing, Neb." Gospel Herald 12, no. 29 (16 October 1919): 537.

Yoder, Holly Blosser. The same spirit: History of Iowa-Nebraska Mennonites. Freeman, S.D.: Central Plains Mennonite Conference, 2003: 166-170, 283.

Additional Information

Address: 597 350th, Beaver Crossing NE 68313

Phone: 402-761-2923

Website:

Denominational Affiliations:

Pastoral Leaders at West Fairview Mennonite Church

Name Years
of Service
John Steckley (1857-1929) 1902?-1909
Joseph E. Whitaker (1867-1929) 1907-1911?
1916?-1919?
Christian C. Steckly (1874-1944) 1909-1912
Frederick J. Gingerich (1878-1955) 1913-1919
William R. Eicher (1889-1959)
(Bishop)
1917-1932
1932-1959
Jacob W. Oswald (1881-1958) 1923?-1927
Ezra Roth (1904-1950) 1932-1950
John R. Roth (1898-1955) 1950-1955
Lloyal J. Burkey (1923-2018) 1956-2005?
Dale J. Oswald (1923-2015)
(Bishop)
1957-1958
1958-1993
F. Dale Hostetler (1924-2009) 1975-2005?
Gale E. Oswald (Bishop) 1993-2008
David A. Burkey (Bishop) 2008-
Thaddeus Kremer 2012-

West Fairview Mennonite Church Membership

Year Members
1913 88
1920 134
1930 150
1940 143
1950 143
1960 103
1970 116
1980 82
1990 48
2000 64
2009 77
2020 76

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

By William R. Eicher. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 111. All rights reserved.

West Fairview Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), located near Beaver Crossing, Seward County, Nebraska, was initially a member of the Iowa-Nebraska Mennonite Conference. It began as an extension Sunday school of the East Fairview Mennonite Church prior to 1904, for the benefit of members who lived too far away from the church. These members met in various schools until 1905, when a meetinghouse was built about five miles from the East Fairview meetinghouse.

Joe Whitaker from Parnell, Iowa, became the first minister. Other ministers who have served are John Steckley, Chris Steckley, Fred Gingerich, Jacob Oswald, John R. Troyer, Ezra Roth, Lloyal Burkey, Dale Oswald, and William R. Eicher (ordained as minister in 1916 and as bishop in 1932), the bishop-pastor in 1959. The membership in 1959 was 110. A new church, 72 x 42 ft, was dedicated in 1956.


Author(s) Samuel J Steiner
Date Published August 2023

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "West Fairview Mennonite Church (Beaver Crossing, Nebraska, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2023. Web. 3 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Fairview_Mennonite_Church_(Beaver_Crossing,_Nebraska,_USA)&oldid=177358.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2023). West Fairview Mennonite Church (Beaver Crossing, Nebraska, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 3 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=West_Fairview_Mennonite_Church_(Beaver_Crossing,_Nebraska,_USA)&oldid=177358.




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