Mount Pleasant Evangelical Missionary Church (Singhampton, Ontario, Canada)
Originally, Jane Sprott (Mrs. Henry) and Sarah Sherrick (Mrs. John), both of nearby Nottawasaga Township, initiated the rural appointment that came to be the Mount Pleasant Mennonite Brethren in Christ (MBiC) Church of Osprey Township, Grey County, Ontario, Canada. They sponsored protracted evangelistic meetings on Concession 8 of Osprey, south of Collingwood in 1896. The two women were Methodist and Brethren in Christ respectively. They invited Amos Eby, pastor of the nearby Shrigley Mennonite Brethren in Christ congregation to preach for the converts and a class organized in October. It met in Morrison’s School House on the west side of the 8th Concession.
One notable convert in the first meetings was William Brown who became an elder (ordained minister) of the MBiC for 40 years, and the father of another minister, William Cecil Brown. A tent meeting in 1898 with Noah Detwiler was followed by the baptism of 50 people in Brewster’s Lake. The congregation bought land from Joseph Brown opposite the school and constructed a meeting place that was completed in 1899, and dedicated in January 1900. In 2022 it still served as the core of the facility. Until the time of pastor Dow Sargeant, Mount Pleasant often closed in winter. Even so, many services were canceled due to impassible snow-covered roads. Some other family names included Hunking, Good, Zeller, Ferris, Ellis, Sayers and Bristol.
The church excavated a basement in 1961, bought new pews in 1967, removed the old vestibule in 1971, and completed a new entrance and Sunday School space. It purchased an organ in 1974 and completed more renovations in 1985.
The Mount Pleasant congregation was part of a circuit with Shrigley, Proton, and Centre Line appointments. A strong youth program under Wayne Wardell and increased attendance under William Lewin from 1991 encouraged the congregation to separate from Shrigley in 1993. Unfortunately, pastor Lewin died in October of that year. Renewed growth occurred under Patrick Halferty.
Until 1947, Mount Pleasant’s statistics were included in those of the circuit. During the 1950s and 60s, Mount Pleasant had a Sunday School of between 50 to 60.
Mount Pleasant was part of the Canada (Ontario) Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, and continued a member of the successor Ontario District/ Canada East District of what is now the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada (EMCC). Since 2005, the EMCC has operated without districts.
Bibliography
Cober, Peter, "Northern Tidings." Gospel Banner (January 1900): 5.
Conference Journals and District newsletters, Ontario Conference/ Canada East District, 1898-2005.
Hunking, Leamon. Home Spun Flashbacks of Shrigley and Community 1893-1995. [Dundalk, Ontario: For the Author, 1995].
Mount Pleasant Evangelical Missionary Church "2019 Annual Business Meeting Report, January 26, 2020."
Osprey Historical Society. "Evangelical Missionary Church, Brewsters Lake" in History of the Township of Osprey: 150 Years of Osprey History. Osprey, Ont.: Osprey Historical Society, 2002: 419.
Additional Information
Address: 634199 Road 63, Singhampton, Ontario
Telephone: 519-922-1159
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada
Pastoral Leaders at Mt. Pleasant Evangelical Missionary Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Amos Eby | 1895-1898 |
| Henry Goudie | 1898-1900 |
| John A. Sider | 1900-1901 |
| Peter Cober | 1901-1903 |
| Isaiah Wyant | 1903-1904 |
| Webster Irish | 1904-1906 |
| Milton Bricker | 1906-1908 |
| Flavius J. Lehman | 1908-1910 |
| Alfred George Warder | 1910-1913 |
| Nicholas H. Schwalm | 1913-1916 |
| Charles I. Sinden | 1916-1918 |
| Mansell W. McGuire | 1918-1921 |
| Alonzo T. Gooding | 1921-1924 |
| Robert Eltherington | 1924-1927 |
| Ernest W. Harvey | 1927-1932 |
| Arthur D. Lehman | 1932-1936 |
| Russell J. Pike | 1936-1940 |
| Dow W. Sargeant | 1940-1945 |
| Harold L. Kennedy | 1945-1947 |
| Howard L. Shantz | 1947-1950 |
| George A. Turnbull | 1950-1958 |
| Wayne F. Good | 1958-1960 |
| Douglas E. Gray | 1961-1966 |
| George Peck | 1966-1968 |
| Curtis L. Bender | 1969-1975 |
| Robert Bentley | 1975-1978 |
| Keith Montgomery | 1978-1984 |
| Hugh Rutledge | 1984-1988 |
| Wayne J. Wardell | 1988-1990 |
| William Lewin | 1991-1993 |
| Mt. Pleasant became a single charge | |
| William Lewin | 1993 |
| Wilson T. Wiley | 1994-1999 |
| Patrick J. Halferty | 1999-2008 |
| Andrew Robertson (Interim) | ?-2011 |
| Chris Grey | 2012-2014 |
| Marcus Emberley | 2016-2020 |
| Bob Howes | 2021-present |
Mt. Pleasant Evangelical Missionary Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1947 | 29 |
| 1967 | 16 |
| 1987 | 6 |
| 2007 | 29 |
| 2022 | 23 |
| Author(s) | Clare Fuller |
|---|---|
| Date Published | March 2022 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Fuller, Clare. "Mount Pleasant Evangelical Missionary Church (Singhampton, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2022. Web. 24 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mount_Pleasant_Evangelical_Missionary_Church_(Singhampton,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=173542.
APA style
Fuller, Clare. (March 2022). Mount Pleasant Evangelical Missionary Church (Singhampton, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mount_Pleasant_Evangelical_Missionary_Church_(Singhampton,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=173542.
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