Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1947-2010 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
1.50 Linear Feet; 3 archives boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Plato Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), Lagrange, Indiana was established in 1949. It began as an offshoot of Emma Mennonite Church (Topeka, Ind.) in 1947 and was named for the community of Plato, Ind. After much discernment, it became an independent congregation. The congregation used the lot to name Willis C. Troyer its first pastor in 1950.
Plato Mennonite Church thrived for nearly 50 years. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the declining number of active participants in the congregation required some action by the congregation. In 2002, long time pastor Richard Martin retired and lay persons began to provide official church leadership. Plato Mennonite Church withdrew from the Indiana-Michigan Conference in 2003 and changed their name to Plato Christian Fellowship.
In 2008, Plato Christian Fellowship relocated to a building in Shipshewana, Ind. and renamed itself Morningstar Christian Fellowship. The congregation retains an Anabaptist orientation, but functions as an independent congregation.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
These records consist of the documents of church governance (trustee and church council), membership lists, directories, documents pertaining to various fellowship groups and ministries, and an unpublished account of the congregation's early history. Also included are selected church bulletins, documents regarding the renaming and relocation of the congregation, and miscellaneous congregational records.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Bulletins dated 1961 -2001 were randomly sampled. Five bulletins per calendar year were retained.
Accruals
System of arrangement
Flat
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
These materials are open for public research.
Conditions governing reproduction
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. Copyright owned by the Mennonite Church USA Archives.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
2010-11-30
Language(s)
- English