Sunday celebration of, farewell to the structure as church home
First Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake will hold a celebration of and farewell to the building at 305 Seventh Street North in Mountain Lake on Sunday, December 27.
The mixed choir will sing and those attending will also celebrate the birth of the Savior in a worship service that begins at 10:40 a.m.
Following the worship service, all comers are invited to stay for a potluck meal. Table service will be provided; just bring a dish to share.
The church’s foundation
The sanctuary of the church illustrates the themes of the faith with 17 stained glass windows that highlight different aspects of their Anabaptist heritage.
First Mennonite is a member of Mennonite Church USA and the Central Plains Mennonite Conference.
The church has taken part in the Mission Partner Program (a specific missionary is selected for prayer, correspondence and financial support), the Mennonite Disaster Services (volunteers responded to catastrophes) and the Mennonite Central Committee (support of relief, development and justice concerns, along with for the local Care & Share Shop, Meat Canning and Minn-Kota Sale and Auction.
For years the congregation sponsored Church Night suppers on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, providing a meal for their members and their neighbors; in fact, all were welcomed.
The decision to sell the building was made due in part that the building was too big for the needs of the church family. The church will retain ownership of the property on which the parsonage is located.
The church’s collection of photographs and other historical memorabilia will be presented for use to Heritage Village of Mountain Lake.
The history of First Mennonite
When the Mennonite came to Minnesota – from 1874 to 1876 – from the Ukraine area of Russia, they settled in southeastern Cottonwood County, the western part of Watonwan County and in the southeast corner of Jackson County.
Four groups of believers in the Anabaptist faith began to form – one in Mountain Lake, one five miles southwest of Mountain Lake, another near Delft and the fourth, northeast of Butterfield. Each group had built a church within five years, and the Butterfield church had constructed a Christian school and dormitory.
The group first meetings for the group in Mountain Lake were held in homes, with the first baptismal service held in a machine shed on the Henry Janzen farm on the west edge of Mountain Lake. The group stressed adult baptism, where the Elder would cover the candidate’s head with his hands while another pastor poured water over his or her head.
Sunday services were held in the shed – and sometimes, even in the haymow of the Janzen farm.
The First Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake was organized in 1878, and built its first building and had it dedicated in 1882. It was built on the west edge of Mountain Lake on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Janzen – still the site of the present church. A new building was constructed in 1911, and the current building was dedicated on August 5, 1956.
The church was originally incorporated on July 30, 1888 as “The Trustees of the Mountain Lake Mennoniten Kirche.” The church retained that name until 1938, when it was legally changed to “First Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake, Minnesota.”
With I. I. Bargen as teacher, Sunday School was begun in 1891. In 1893, David D. Harder was ordained as a minister and served the church for 42 years.
In 1919, there was a split in the church. Elder Jacob Stoesz resigned and went to the Bergthal Church (First Mennonite Church North of Butterfield), which had been in union with the Mountain Lake church. When he left, Reverend I. J. Dick was selected by lot and ordained in 1920. He prepped for his ministerial service by attending Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, and returned to serve the church for 33 years – mostly without pay.
The church went without a constitution for 52 years. The eventual constitution was drawn up by a committee consisting of Elder Dick, Reverend Harder and I. I. Bargen. It was adopted in 1930. The constitution was originally written in German and later translated into English.
The church’s first pipe organ was installed in 1937. The present organ was installed in 1956, when a larger organ was needed for the new, larger church building.
In 1947, a parsonage was built on the northeast corner of the church lot for Reverend L. R. Amstutz and his family. Reverend Amstutz was the first pastor called from outside the church’s membership.
Pastors of the church have included:
+ David Loewen – 1877.
+ John Schultz – 1877.
+ Gerhard Neufeld – 1878-1909.
+ Cornelius Enns – 1879.
+ Peter Voth – 1881-1892.
+ Gerhard Fast – 1881-1908.
+ Abraham Friesen – 1894-1891.
+ Gerhard Rahn – 1893-1914.
+ David D. Harder – 1893-1935.
+ Jacob Stoesz – 1900-1918.
+ Johann Niessen – 1911-1924.
+ I. J. Dick – 1914-1947.
+ Landolene R. Amstutz – 1947-1955.
+ Willard R. Wiebe – 1955-1964.
+ Alvin D. Kleinsasser – 1964-1970.
+ Paul Kliewer (interim) – 1968-1972.
+ Harold W. Thieszen – 1971-1975.
+ Bruno Penner – 1975-1984.
+ Andrew N. Shelly (interim) – 1984-1985.
+ Lorne Friesen – 1985-1990.
+ John Kroeker – 1990-1999 (beginning as interim pastor).
+ Ray Reimer (interim) – 1999-2000.
+ Elaine Kaufmann – pastor since February 2000.
+ Melvin Claasen also served as interim pastor at various times.
More than the building
While the church members may be bidding farewell to the building – the 30-to-40-member congregation will remain together with Sunday services being held on a week-to-week, month-to-month basis in the Chapel at the Good Samaritan Society of Mountain Lake, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
As well, Pastor Kauffman will have an office in Bethel Mennonite Church in Mountain Lake. The church phone number will remain 507-42-2237. Her e-mail address is now: seekfirst@gmail.com.
The current building will remain as a house of worship with Iglesia Pentecostal Hispana Unida (United Pentecostal Hispanic Church), a growing church community in southwest Minnesota, purchasing the structure for their use.
As the congregation and pastor of First Mennonite assert, their church family is more than just a building; they will still worship together, no matter where they meet.
This idea ties directly in to the church’s supporting Bible verse – For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ: 1 Corinthians 3:11
With that as their belief – their faith foundation – members know that their worship can be built anywhere.
