10218 SE 12 St., Whitewater, Ks 67154
Menno Simons
1496 – 1561
Namesake of the Mennonite Church
True Christians do not know vengeance, no matter how they are mistreated. In patience they possess their souls … And they do not break their peace, even if they should be tempted by bondage, torture, poverty, and besides, by the sword and fire.
They do not cry, Vengeance, vengeance, as does the world; but with Christ they supplicate and pray: Father, for give them; for they know not what they do. According to the declaration of the prophets they have beaten their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, Christ; neither shall they learn war anymore.
On May 7
1840 Birth of Peter I. Tchaikovsky, Russian composer in Russia. He wrote the classic ballet scores Swan Lake (1877), Sleeping Beauty (1890), and The Nutcracker (1892).
1900 Birth of Richard S. Willis (b. 1819) famous for writing two tunes: CAROL (“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”) and CRUSADERS’ HYMN (“Fairest Lord Jesus”).
1914 Death of David Goerz. David Goerz, a General Conference Mennonite minister and leader, was born on June 2, 1849 in South Russia. He was a close friend of Bernhard Warkentin, who traveled to America on June 5, 1872, and on the basis of the letters which he received from Warkentin spread information about America among the Mennonites of the Ukraine, who had become alarmed by an impending conscription law
In 1877 Goerz was instrumental in organizing the Mennonite Teachers’ Conference, of Kansas, which led to the organization of the Kansas Conference of Mennonites and later became the Western District Conference. In 1900 he made a trip to India to distribute 8,000 bushels of grain among the starving population, which led to the beginning of the General Conference mission work in India.
David Goerz was one of the founders of the Bethel College Corporation and served as its first business manager until 1910, when his health compelled him to relinquish this work. Under his influence the Board of Directors of Bethel College in 1903 organized the Bethel Deaconess Home and Hospital Society, which later became an independent institution
1927 A huge F5 tornado nearly two miles wide raced 95 miles from extreme South Central Kansas to Central Kansas. The tornado killed 10, injured 300, and caused around $1.3 million damage. Most of the approximately 100 farmsteads that were hit vanished. The tornado tore through Barber, Kingman, Eastern Reno and Southwest McPherson counties before lifting 7 miles south southwest of McPherson. Four fatalities occurred one mile southeast of Medicine Lodge, one was 2 miles west of Kingman, three were in East Hutchinson and two were in McPherson County. Damage in East Hutchinson totaled $750,000.
1967 Bethel College Department of German offers German Summer School for elementary and high school students. Tuition: $10
1995 Western District Prayer Request: Remember the Walton Mennonite Church today. They celebrate the 50th anniversary of their building dedication this afternoon.
1995 Commission on Home Ministries: Pray that many people in our congregations will write letters to their politicians supporting a Peace Tax Fund in the U.S. and the redirection of taxes in Canada.
2006 Special thanks to those who prepared and poured concrete for the handicapped parking spaces in front of the education wing. Also thank you to Gerald Wedel for the closet in the old foyer.