Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse (Wellesley Township, Ontario, Canada)
The Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse is located 2 km west of Wellesley Township Road 20 at 6252 Buehler Line, approximately 3.2 km (2 miles) south of the town of Dorking.
The first farms were purchased in this area, northwest of Waterloo, in the 1950s. The Weaverland meetinghouse was built in 1976 when the Old Order Mennonite community in the area was large enough to necessitate a meetinghouse. Earlier these families would have attended the Peel meetinghouse. The name of the meetinghouse comes from the family name "Weber"; since several Weber families belong to this congregation, the community chose the name "Weaverland."
In 1977, the congregation ordained Edwin Brubacher as Minister and Urias Martin as Deacon. In 2003, Levi Weber was ordained as Deacon. As is the practice in Old Order churches, they were ordained by lot from within the congregation. Ordained persons are not paid for their church service.
The Old Order settlement in the area continued to grow and in 1991, another meetinghouse, Klearview, was built further west. The Weaverland meetinghouse was expanded in 1996. In 2000, the Weaverland district was divided into East and West. The East district would meet at the meetinghouse one Sunday, and the West district the other.
In 2004, the number of families in the Weaverland district was around 65. An accurate count of "members" is not always available because Old Order Mennonites think of themselves as members of the church at large and not just the immediate congregation. When people move from one geographical area to another, they automatically "belong" to the congregation whose meetinghouse is closest to their home. No formal membership transfer takes place from the former location.
Bibliography
Weber, Urias. New beginnings: a history of the Old Order Mennonites of Ontario. Wallenstein, Ont.: Vineyard Publications, 2018: 83-85.
Information from the church.
Additional Information
Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse Ordained Leaders
| Ministers | Years | Deacons | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin Brubacher | 1977- | Urias B. Martin | 1977- |
| Levi B. Weber | 2003- | Joseph Burkhart | 2004- |
| Leonard K. Frey | 2005- |
Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse Membership (in families)
| Year | Families |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 65 families |
| Author(s) | Anita Streicher |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 2005 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Streicher, Anita. "Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse (Wellesley Township, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 2005. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Weaverland_Old_Order_Mennonite_Meetinghouse_(Wellesley_Township,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=165170.
APA style
Streicher, Anita. (2005). Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse (Wellesley Township, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Weaverland_Old_Order_Mennonite_Meetinghouse_(Wellesley_Township,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=165170.
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