FAITH MENNONITE CHURCH

Faith Mennonite Church was born because of the need for an English speaking Mennonite Church in this community. Regular worship services and Sunday school classes were begun on February 26, 1961, in the Margaret D. Bennie School.

On June 18, 1961, the formal founding of the congregation took place when fifty members joined the congregation by transfer of membership and three candidates by baptism making a total of fifty-three members.

At the first annual meeting, January 13, 1962, a constitution was accepted and the work of the church was divided into four areas, Missions and Service, Worship and Membership, Education and Youth, and Finance and Stewardship.

On June 10, 1962, the pastor, George Janzen, was ordained to the Christian ministry. Rev. Janzen assisted the group from its very beginning.

In 1962 the congregation was accepted into the fellowship of the General Conference Mennonite Church, as well as the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, and the Ontario United Mennonite Conference.

The church building was begun in 1963 and was built by members and friends on a voluntary labour basis. The cornerstone was laid on April 19, 1964, signifying the foundation of the church which is in Jesus Christ, and expressing the faith and devotion of those who have laboured here, have encouraged and contributed to the work, and have prayed that the Kingdom of God might be extended because of the witness of this church.

As this church more firmly establishes its ministry in this community along with the other churches, we trust that God will be glorified in it and that the deepest needs of persons will be met through it.

269 Sherk St., Leamington, ON, N8H 3K9. (519) 326-6391. Minister Glenn Brubacher served in 2000 as congregational leader. In 1965 there were 69 members; in 1975, 124; in 1985, 130; in 1995, 233; in 2000, 245. The congregation has been affiliated with the Conference of United Mennonite Churches of Ontario (1962), the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (1962), the General Conference Mennonite Church (1962) and the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada (1988). The language of worship is English.

The congregation began services and formally organized in 1961. The first building was occupied in 1964. George Janzen is considered the founding leader of the group. The congregation originated through division from Leamington United Mennonite over the use of the German language in worship.

[SOURCE: Epp, Marlene. (January 1989). "Faith Mennonite Church (Leamington, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. < http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/f364.html > ]

Fifty years ago, in Leamington Ontario, Oak Street United Mennonite Church [originally Essex County United Mennonite Church - built on Oak Street East in 1933-34] was about to explode into controversy. Oak Street was founded in the 1920s by Mennonite refugees fleeing the violence and social upheaval of the newly birthed Soviet Union. Since its founding, the language of worship was their mother tongue, German. But by the 1950s, many members no longer spoke German fluently and could not participate fully in church life. Some wanted to introduce English into worship. Well, you would have thought the devil had walked in the door! The proposal was met with fierce resistance from first generation immigrants who declared that their faith and community depended on resisting assimilation. To allow English worship would mean the end of their Mennonite identity. But the dissenters continued their plea. They were concerned for their children, whose faith development and connection to the church community was being compromised. But the resistance held, and in 1958 a small group of people left Oak Street and began to worship in English in the gymnasium of a local school. They were ridiculed, some were ostracized from their families, their first minister lost his teaching position at the Mennonite high school, but they held on. Faith Mennonite Church was born, and in 1963 they put in place the cornerstone of their new building.

Early in 1963 plans for a church building were discussed and prepared under the direction of William Krause, Chairman of the Finance and Stewardship Committee. The ground-breaking service was held on 14 July and construction was begun immediately. The Finance and Stewardship Committee, along with the Chairman of the Congregation, served as architect , contractor and foreman in the planning and building of the structure. All construction, except the masonry, was done by members of the congregation and a few friends on a voluntary basis. On 19 April 1964 the cornerstone was laid ...

[Source: Frances Selkirk Snell, Compilier, Leamington's Heritage, 1874-1974 (University of Toronto Press, 1974), p. 119]

"The Bill Krause family was with the Faith Mennonite Church at its beginning. Bill was the building head of the church building project and devoted one year of his own time at no cost to the church

For four years Bill suffered with leukemia which he died of January 15, 1980. The funeral was held at the Faith Mennonite Church on January 19, 1980.

Faith Rewarded
Dedication of the new Faith Mennonite Church on Sunday afternoon is a tribute to the whole congregation but especially to William Krause, the chairman of the building committee. Mr. Krause was the sparkplug behind the project. He designed the building himself (even made a scale model of it) and devoted hundreds of hours to it in both the planning and construction stages. The church was built largely through volunteer help and it will be appreciated all the more because of this. The Faith Mennonite congregation numbers less than 70 adults and the new church presented quite a challenge. However, it has been completed now and the building is a fine addition to Leamington's growing list of churches.

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April 19, 1964

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A Brief History of the Faith Mennonite Congregation

1966

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