In 1956, Walnut Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana was a brand-new church plant born from North Goshen Mennonite Church. 33 years later, after a fire destroyed part of its building, North Goshen welcomed Walnut Hill back into their space, for free, for two years until reconstruction was complete. Area congregations with Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference also helped Walnut Hill rebuild after its crisis with their generous financial support.
These were gifts that Walnut Hill never forgot, and ones which they determined to pass along when they could.
Over the years, Walnut Hill has hosted various groups including crafting groups, Al Anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Music Together, and more recently Jail Ministry of Elkhart County and the Repair Network (Mennonite churches connected to the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery). Then in 2021, it opened its doors to another congregation. A small, Latinx church—the Goshen Seventh Day Adventist Church, was seeking a space to meet. With little hesitation, in large part due to how North Goshen had treated them, Walnut Hill became the home for the Goshen Seventh Day Adventist church.
The arrangement worked quite well, so well in fact, that in 2024, when Goshen Haitian Church needed a place to meet, Walnut Hill was ready to welcome them into their space, too. And none of the groups or churches using Walnut Hill's space is ever charged a fee. This is Walnut Hill's way of paying forward the generosity it received. The actual building costs are kept low by using solar panels and other energy-efficient features.
Scheduling-wise, it's worked well as one meets on Saturday and the other on Sunday afternoon while Walnut Hill meets on Sunday morning. And the congregations are slowly getting to know each other, which benefits Walnut Hill as they are a largely homogeneous congregation. Not only does it allow Walnut Hill a way of growing community with two racially marginalized groups in the local community, but it expands their understanding of the different denominations locally, too.
Both the Latinx population in Goshen, and the growing Haitian community, face certain challenges that Walnut Hill is becoming more familiar with and seeks to minister to.
It's a mutually beneficial arrangement that Walnut Hill is glad to be part of.
