REMEMBERING THE PAST, REFOCUSING FOR THE FUTURE!
On April 24th, the Argentine Mennonite Church held a Celebration of Life service. The purpose of this event was to reflect on the long history of the church, to examine what God has been doing and to see what lessons we could learn as we seek God’s plan for our own future. Because we were contemplating over a 100 years of history, the congregation decided to have a multi-stage celebration with each stage focused on a set of decades. The first celebration covered Mennonite mission activity in the area from the late 1800s, the start of the Children’s Home in 1917, the start of the church soon after and the subsequent developments all the way to the 1960s.
The celebration was a great success with over 60 visitors from Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Oklahoma who had connections to the very first decades of the church. It was like seeing history come alive. All of the research input and presentation was accomplished through the meticulous work of the Hershbergers and the Dieners. South Central Conference was represented by both the current Conference Ministerial team of Howard and Cathy Wagler and the former Conference Minister Kurt Horst and his wife Elaine Horst. There were multiple family reconnections including the Helmuts, the Keiffabers, the Selzers, the Hershbergers, the Dieners and the Wises.
For video, pictures and slides from this event hop onto the Argentine Mennonite Church Facebook page.
We have more decades to cover and more celebrations to come. If you would like information on future celebrations please email marshagingerichdiener@gmail.com. All praise be to God who has through His providence and mercy ensured that His Kingdom has woven a path even through the Argentine district of Kansas City.
Sandeep Thomas,
Pastor, Argentine Mennonite Church
Posted on May 12, 2022 in Weekly Word