III-2-1
Anchorage
Mennonite Fellowship, 1978-1990, Anchorage, Alaska
Conference: Northwest Mennonite Conference
Church Records, 1955-1988 (Bulk 1978-1988)
1 Box (Gray)
Scope and Content
Anchorage Mennonite Fellowship (AMF) was a small
group of people from a Mennonite/ Anabaptist background that began
meeting together for fellowship and study. This fellowship was
devoted to social activities and service, later focussing on peace and
justice issues.
The records mostly reflect two periods in the
congregation’s life: 1978-1980 and 1983-1986. These papers
reflect the leadership of Martin Harder, Clair Martin and George
Brenneman who were the creators of most of the papers. A third
time period is 1984, when Peter Haynes was in the group as a summer
pastoral intern. Therefore the majority of records from that time
have been preserved. There are scattered records from 1981-1982
and 1987-1988. There are no records from the last two years of
the church.
Historical Sketch
Mennonites had been interested in Alaska since
1896. Voluntary Service units were established there in 1952, but
no Mennonite church existed in Alaska until 1978, when Linford Hackman
encourage Mennonite families in Anchorage to organize. The
Anchorage Mennonite Fellowship was a house church governed by lay
leaders who were elected by the congregation to 2-4 months and 1 year
terms. Because of the informal setting and transient nature of
work in Alaska, leadership and membership changed frequently throughout
the lifetime of the Fellowship. In 1985, the leadership structure
consisted of a Content Committee, Outreach Committee, Celebration
Committee, Treasurer, Co-Secretaries, and Lay Leaders. The
Content Committee was responsible for worship, Bible Study materials
and direction. The Celebration Committee planned pot lucks and
dinners to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. The
Outreach Committee was in charge of social service projects, including
the Human Needs Fund and Jesse Lee Home.
Main Lay Leaders:
Tom Bender
1978-1979
Martin and Mary Harder
1978-1979
Clair and Guenn Martin
1979-1982
Rod and Leila Macdonald
1982-1985
George and Jewell Brenneman 1983-1987
Dean Gingrich
1984-1989
Jan Jenner
1988-1989
Cheryl Westley
1988-1990
1978 Eight families from a Mennonite background meet
together November 28
to discuss the
possibility of regularly meeting together for Christian Fellowship and
Bible Study.
1978 Anchorage Mennonite Fellowship is named on
December 3. They decide
to meet weekly on
Sunday afternoons.
1979 First leaders are co-ordinators elected to 4
month terms on January 7.
1979 Group begins studying Mennonite Confession of
Faith on February 4.
1979 Separate activities for children start February
11
1979 Separate business meeting and midweek service
start April 1.
1979 Statement of Purpose accepted by group April 8.
1980 AMF appears in Mennonite Yearbook as an
Unaffiliated Mennonite
Congregation.
1981 AMF affiliates with Northwest Mennonite
Conference
1983 Covenant is signed October 23.
1983-1984 Fellowship begins Celebration Committee,
Human Needs fund,
secretarial and
treasurers’ positions and begins supporting local charities.
1984-1985 Content Committee and Outreach Committee
are added to
organizational
structure.
1984 Peter Haynes, middle year student at Bethany
Theological Seminary,
serves as a
pastoral intern for the summer.
1984 By-laws are adopted October 17.
1985 AMF received nonprofit status by the IRS January
3.
1985 AMF begins volunteering at Jessie Lee [boys]
Home January 23.
1985 September 8, the Servant Committee is formed.
1989 Members decide to meet on second and fourth
Sundays in January.
1990 Fellowship comes to an end in December and
assets are dispersed to
local charities.
Administrative Information
After the fellowship ended, Cheryl Westley
maintained the records until April 2004. At that time she sent
them to George Brenneman who later donated this collection to the
archives on June 7, 2004. Serena Bracewell, summer intern,
preaccessioned and processed the collection, writing and posting
its inventory to the web in July and August of 2004.
Series and Box Listing
Administration, 1978-1986
Box 1 Folders 1-4
Correspondence, 1978-1988
Folders 5-6
Activities, 1985-1988
Folders 7-8
Media, 1955-59, 1978-1988
Folders 9-11
Pastoral Intern Study, 1983-1985
Folders 12-17
Inventory
Box 1
Administration
1/1 Membership Rolls
1979-1986
1/2 Governing Documents
1978-1984
1/3 Meeting Minutes
1978-1979, 1983 – 1986
1/4 Tax Exempt Status
July 14, 1984 – Jan 3, 1985
Correspondence
1/5 General Correspondence
Nov 20, 1978 –
Dec 1988
1/6 Official Correspondence
Feb
16, 1979 – Nov 15, 1988
Activities
1/7 Retreat
Nov 1 – 3, 1985
1/8 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Nov 21, 1987 – Oct 1988
Peace and Justice Center
Media
1/9 Articles
1955 – 59, 1982 - 1985
1/10 Slides
June 8, 1987
1/11 CD-RW:
2004,
[1978-1988]
computer disk
containing
digital images of
documents and photos
compiled by George
Brenneman.
Pastoral Intern
Study
1/12 Correspondence
May 16,
1983 – March 1, 1985
1/13 Evangelism and Church Growth
Spring 1984
Includes report on House
Churches
Slideshow and script
1/15 Songs
August 1984
1/16 Ministry Project:
Syllabus
September 23, 1984
and
Report
1/17 AMF Report
September 24, 1984
Name and Subject Tracing
Anchorage Mennonite Fellowship
Bethany Theological Seminary
Brenneman, George
Church and Social Problems
Hackman, Linford
House Churches
Mennonites-Alaska
Northwest Mennonite Conference
August 10, 2004 / Posted on Web by Serena Bracewell
File: “III0201.doc”
Mennonite Church
USA Archives-Goshen, 1700 S. Main St., Goshen, Indiana 46526
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