Berlin Mennonite will include community as it celebrates a centennial of faithfulness

One century is a long time for any entity to be around. So much can happen in a span of 100 years, and to last that long takes a great deal of determination, cooperation and stamina.

When it comes to a church being around for a century, it also takes a whole lot of faith and love, which is where Berlin Mennonite will turn its focus as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

The church’s mission statement is “rooted in Jesus, growing in faith and branching out in love,” and it serves as the focal point of the centennial celebration. And in accordance to the mission statement, the Berlin Mennonite Church body wants the celebration to go beyond the church walls.

The church congregation is inviting the public to a celebration Sept. 16-17 to join in the anniversary festivities of Berlin Mennonite’s century of service to community and being centered on the love of Jesus Christ as they rejoice in the past, celebrate the present and look forward to the future.

According to Inga Troyer, who grew up in the church, Berlin Mennonite came to be because people in Berlin in the early 1900s were having trouble making it to church at Martins Creek during the winter.

The initial church building, which is where the bulk food store now resides near the main intersection, was purchased by the church in 1917, and the first sermon and Sunday School classes were held in 1918. In 1952 Berlin Mennonite held a ground-breaking ceremony for where the church is now located, and since then many additions have continued to make the church a place that serves the community well in many ways.

There will be a large picnic in the church pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 4-7 p.m. that will feature food, live music and children’s activities. Tim Shue of Central Christian High School will lead a hymn sing at 7 p.m. as they celebrate the musical part of the church’s history. The Sunday morning worship service Sept. 17 will continue the celebration with a carry-in to follow. The public is invited to attend the entire weekend of activities.

Troyer said throughout the year the church will celebrate the anniversary in many ways as they rejoice in where God has taken them and what the future might hold in store.

In addition the next year will see the women’s sewing group making 100 comforters for Mennonite Central Committee, a major undertaking in which they are inviting anyone to join in the fun. The church also will create a church cookbook later in December as part of the celebration.

Much of the history of the church is fleshed out in a new book from Jean Lefurgey that features Berlin Mennonite’s transition from a church plant on the square in Berlin as an offshoot of Martins Creek Mennonite Church to its move to its existing location on state Route 62 on the south side of Berlin.

Lefurgey had done a church history book prior to this one when she lived in Hudson, Ohio. She said it was immediately after her husband had passed away, so it filled a void in her life as she dove into it, compiling an incredible amount of detail.

When she found out the centennial was quickly approaching, she offered to research and write a book on Berlin Mennonite’s history. This book was much the same as this time she was recovering from hip replacement surgery and had another void to fill in her life.

“It seems like these books keep popping up at the perfect time,” Lefurgey said.

Lefurgey put the word out at church that she was seeking any and all types of historical data from the church. What she got was nearly overwhelming as boxes and boxes of mementos, photographs, news clippings and old bulletins showed up at church.

“It became a matter of plowing through box after box,” Lefurgey said. “It got to be a lot like Christmas because these boxes would come in and the outside of the box would say elder’s minutes, and inside was photographs and baptismal certificates and anything but elder’s minutes. It took me about two years to go through it all.”

In addition to the sea of information was the incredible attention to detail that was required because much of the information would have dates and no names or first names only, meaning Lefurgey had to do a great deal of back-tracking and cross-referencing to make sure details were correct.

“Since this was not my home church growing up, I didn’t know a lot of the history, and that actually worked to my benefit,” Lefurgey said. “I just assumed like me, people didn’t know anything about the history, so the book can be read by someone who doesn’t attend this church who can get the flow of how the church got to where it is today.”

“She has been a gift from God,” Troyer said of Lefurgey. “She brought an unbiased perspective at the right time, and not just anybody can do what she did in compiling all of this information and putting it into book form.”

The books will be on sale during the celebration, and eventually they will be sold at Gospel Book Store with all of the proceeds being donated to the Amish Mennonite & Heritage Center.

“Jean is a very clear communicator,” Berlin Mennonite associate pastor Jeff Hochstetler said. “She finds the interesting pieces of the church and brings in these larger world historical moments like World War I that create this tension and this great story and communicates the developments quite clearly. It is really an easy read.”

Lefurgey said one aspect of the church she enjoyed learning more about through her work on the book was the church’s pacifistic approach during World War I.

“Some of the treatment was really brutal,” Lefurgey said.

Hummel, whose children are now the sixth generation of her family to attend Berlin Mennonite, said she is excited as she looks back through the history.

“It’s neat to look back and see God’s hand woven through the church and his presence throughout,” Troyer said. “It is exciting to see it being carried on through our next generations to come.”

Troyer said she would define Berlin Mennonite as a friendly, welcoming church and said community has always been a huge part of what the church wanted to be about. A love for God, for each other and for community is something that has been a lynchpin for the church over the past century.

"There is definitely a feeling of community when you walk in this church,” Troyer said. “There is a connectivity between the members, but at the same time we try to look beyond ourselves to see how we can reach out and make a positive impact on our community.”

Which is why they felt it was an easy choice to open the doors and invite the entire community to join them for the celebration.

The Sept. 16-17 events will be a celebration and homecoming, providing a chance to look back and see God’s faithfulness.

“It’s an invitation to share in each other’s lives,” Hochstetler said. “It’s a good time to hold up the mirror and take an assessment. I hope that people will really open up and share about how this church has blessed them. After all it is not about us. It is about God using us to impact others. My biggest hope is that people will feel open to share, whether that is speaking or through a letter. It’s a wonderful time of testimony.”