DHAMTARI, India (Mennonite World Conference/Mennonite Mission Network) – Bethel Mennonite Church in Balodgahan will mark 100 years in a Jubilee celebration Oct. 29-30, 2006. The congregation is part of the Mennonite Church in India whose head office is here.

Bethel Mennonite invites members of the Mennonite World Conference family, especially those with family members who served as mission workers here, to join this celebration.

Bishop Mahlon and Sarah Lapp were pioneer missionaries who established the Balodgahan mission station. In 1906, a predecessor agency of Mennonite Mission Network sent North American workers to start boarding schools for girls and boys, a home for widows, a training center and other schools.

Church leaders affirmed the service of North American Mennonites who have served in the church.

”God has blessed us on various occasions,” the invitation reads. ”We request prayer for this event that it will be successful and we will give God all the glory.”

For more information or travel assistance, contact John F. Lapp, director of West Asia at Mennonite Mission Network. Toll-free: 1-866-866 or direct: 574-523-3075.