Difference between revisions of "Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario, Canada)"

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! Year !! Members
 
! Year !! Members
 
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| 1925 || align="right" |  125
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| 1925 || 125
 
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| 1950 || align="right" |  148
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| 1950 || 148
 
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| 1965  || align="right" |  149
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| 1965  || 149
 
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| 1975  || align="right" |  121
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| 1975  || 121
 
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| 1985  || align="right" |  134
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| 1985  || 134
 
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| 2000  || align="right" |  200
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| 2000  || 200
 
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| 2008  || align="right" |  222
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| 2008  || 222
 
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= Maps =
 
= Maps =
 
[[Map:Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario)|Map:Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario)]]
 
[[Map:Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario)|Map:Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario)]]
 
{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=May 2008|a1_last=Wiens|a1_first=Erwin|a2_last= |a2_first= }}
 
{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=May 2008|a1_last=Wiens|a1_first=Erwin|a2_last= |a2_first= }}
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[[Category:Churches]]
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[[Category:Mennonite Church (MC) Congregations]]
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[[Category:Mennonite Conference of Ontario and Quebec Congregations]]
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[[Category:Mennonite Church Eastern Canada Congregations]]
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[[Category:Mennonite Church Canada Congregations]]
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[[Category:Ontario Congregations]]
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[[Category:Canadian Congregations]]

Revision as of 20:09, 1 March 2014

File:90-12.97.jpg
The 1856 Cressman Church

The Cressman congregation probably began in 1815 when the Cressman family arrived from Pennsylvania. For a time they held worship services in their home or the local school house.

In 1834 the Benjamin Eby congregation in Berlin (now First Mennonite Church on King Street in Kitchener) outgrew its log meetinghouse built in 1813. The building was disassembled and moved to the Christian Snyder farm in Breslau and reassembled on an acre of land that was deeded in 1837 by Snyder to the congregation's first trustees. The selling price was one pound and it was stipulated that the property must be used solely for a meetinghouse, burying ground, and school for the Mennonites and all people in the area.

This log structure served the congregation's needs until 1856 when a brick building was erected. The log church was moved to the village of Breslau and became the residence of Fred Schaefer, a brick maker who bricked the log building at a later date. In 2008 the house still stood in good livable condition on Woolwich Street North.

In 1908 the congregation saw that its building was neither large enough or substantial enough to accommodate the people, so a new white brick church was built, using bricks from the Breslau brick yard and recycling bricks from the previous church building. This building in 2009 served as the Christian Education wing. In 1968 an addition was added to the front of the church, along with some renovations, and in July of that year the name was changed from Cressman Mennonite Church to Breslau Mennonite Church.

By 1989 plans for expansion envisioned a new church to be added on to the existing building. A cornerstone was laid in 1990 and by 1991 the congregation moved into the new addition that consisted of a beautiful sanctuary, gymnasium, library, nursery, three offices and a large sunlit foyer. It was attached to the original structure where Sunday School classes, a Parish Nurse office and smaller fellowship hall were housed. A bricked outdoor courtyard touched both the old and the new buildings.

Breslau Mennonite Church is as old as this community. As an early concrete instance of  Christian hospitality, it is worthy to note when our German-speaking Catholic neighbors first settled in New Germany (now the Maryhill area), they found shelter and help in Mennonite homes until they could locate homes for themselves.

In addition to many children and youth, in 2008, 222 adult members representing approximately 100 households constituted a vibrant congregation.  May the faith of our pioneer fathers and mothers continue to grow amongst many peoples.

Bibliography

Burkholder, Oscar. Cressman Mennonite Church. Breslau, ON: The Church, 1955, 24 pp.

Mennonite Reporter (9 July 1984): 11; (18 February 1991): 12.

Archival Records

Congregational Records at Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

Mennonites in Canada collection. "(1830-Cressman)." Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

Additional Information

Address: 226 Woolwich St., Breslau, ON, N0B 1M0

Phone: 519-648-2501

Website: Breslau Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Eastern Canada

Mennonite Church Canada

Breslau Mennonite Church Pastors

Minister Years of Service
Joseph Hagey 1839-1867 
Jacob Woolner 1867-1890 
Isaac Wambold  1890-1912 
Oscar Burkholder  1913-1954 
Carl Rudy  1954-1960 
Albert Martin  1961-1965 
Laurence Martin  1965-1970 
Donovan Smucker (Interim)  1971-1973 
Dennis Cressman  1973-1979 
Doug Snyder (Interim)  1979 
Erwin Wiens  1980-1993 
Jan Steckley (Associate)  1989-1998 
Laurence Martin  1993-2002 
Susan Allison-Jones (Associate)  1999-2003 
Ken Bechtel (Interim)  2002-2003 
Tara Gingerich Hiebert  (Part time) 2003-2006 
Darrel Toews 2003-Present 
Darren Kropf 2007-2011 
Vicky Roeder Martin (Youth) 2011-2014 

Breslau Mennonite Church Membership

Year Members
1925 125
1950 148
1965  149
1975  121
1985  134
2000  200
2008  222

Maps

Map:Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario)


Author(s) Erwin Wiens
Date Published May 2008

Cite This Article

MLA style

Wiens, Erwin. "Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2008. Web. 18 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Breslau_Mennonite_Church_(Breslau,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=114525.

APA style

Wiens, Erwin. (May 2008). Breslau Mennonite Church (Breslau, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Breslau_Mennonite_Church_(Breslau,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=114525.




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