Pastors Pleasant View Mennonite

Glen Richard 1957 to September 1977 Ordained January 29, 1961

John Abraham December 1980 - November 1981

Eugene Garber Interim September 1982 - June 1985

Chuck Lyon December 1985 - January 1989

Dave Boshart June 1989 - November 1996 Ordained September 1989

Herb Yoder - Interim 1997 (Six months)

Marc Hershberger November 1997 - August 2004 Ordained 1999

Robert Hartzler Interim September 2004 - June 2005

John Zimmerman July 2005 - May 2012

Dave Schooley & Joe Telgren III Interim June 2012 - June 2013

John Yoder Schrock Interim August 2014 - August 2015

Beth Peachey Miller September 2016 - to present

The story of the beginning of Pleasant View Mennonite fits into a broader pattern of Mennonites finding their way into towns and larger urban areas as the U.S. became more urban in the second half of the Twentieth Century. Wellman Mennonite (1940) claims to be the first Mennonite church established within city limits in the State of Iowa. First Mennonite in Iowa City became an independent congregation in 1954 and others followed as churches were started in Fort Dodge (1956) Kalona (1958), Des Moines (1958) and Washington (1958).

Pleasant View’s story is similar to the others as members of rural Mennonite congregations sought ways to reach out to their neighbors in nearby towns. First steps were often a summer Bible School program or Sunday School activities aimed at local youth and their parents. Pleasant View’s story can be traced to the Bible School programs begun at the Leetown Mission in 1955. If there was a positive response, the decision was made to find or erect a building and to begin a more formal church.

The result was an interesting combination of members from the “parent church” mixed with new members from “town.” This mixture resulted in the new congregations like Pleasant View facing questions and challenges more rural congregations might not face for several more years.

What does it mean to be Mennonite in a place where people might not appreciate time honored cultural practices such as four part acapella singing, where forms of dress don’t always fit with the prevailing notions of nonconformity, and perhaps even more important, those distinguishing beliefs such as nonresistance prove to be a barrier to some? While divorce and remarriage might be “settled issues” in rural churches, new congregations such as Pleasant View, found themselves confronting such issues. Churches such as Pleasant View found themselves having conversations about “uncomfortable topics” those in the rural churches might not appreciate. Sometimes this brought growth, but at other times these discussions were a cause for pain as some members chose to withdraw and go elsewhere.

Pleasant View has had periods of stable leadership with the ministry of Glen Richard lasting twenty years and those of pastors Boshart, Hershberger and Zimmerman lasting seven years each, covering two-thirds of Pleasant Views history

The other twenty years of Pleasant View’s history have been periods of transition filled with interim pastors and strings of guest speakers. While there were times of instability, these were times when strong lay leadership emerged from the congregation, as people stepped forward to play important roles in the absence of a pastor. This has been especially evident in recent years as a small core of members has worked to keep the congregation functioning and viable.

What the future holds for Pleasant View is uncertain. What is clear is that the small group of members will seek to remain faithful to God’s leading and direction in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Marcus Miller 11.7.2018