A state historical marker issued by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources that highlights Trissels Mennonite Church as the oldest continuously functioning Mennonite congregation in Virginia was dedicated Nov. 15 during a public ceremony about two miles east of the church.
Speakers included Trissels church council chair John-Allen Ennis, Pastor Harold Miller and Eastern Mennonite High School history teacher Elwood Yoder, who is writing a history of the Trissels congregation.
The original Trissels Church was constructed around 1823, adjacent to a cemetery with graves dating from the late 1700s. A second sanctuary replaced the first one in 1900, and in 1950 the current church opened, replacing the prior building.
The sponsors of the Trissels Mennonite Church marker covered its manufacturing costs. The Virginia Board of Historic Resources approved the marker in December 2019.
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