Avon Mennonite Church (Stratford, Ontario, Canada)

The Avon Mennonite Church in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, began with a Summer Bible School sponsored by the Ontario Amish Mennonite Conference in July 1951. Ross Bender was the superintendent of this first school. In the spring of 1952, the conference purchased a house at the corner of Romeo and Brunswick Streets. Another Bible School was held that summer, and Sunday school classes began to be held in the house. In July 1953 Sunday evening and Friday evening services began, under the direction of Ephraim Gingerich.

In September 1955, Jake Spenler of Milverton was invited to be the first pastor for the group that had about 16 adults and 30 children attending. The Spenler family lived in the house except for the front two rooms which were used for church meetings.

By 1958 youth and women's organizations had formed. Plans also began for a new church building which was finally dedicated in June 1961, though the house remained as a parsonage.

In 1975, during the pastorate of Rod and Doris Weber, a Voluntary Service (VS) program began in Stratford that used the house for the VS unit. This program ended in 1980. The house was then used for the Avonholme program for persons with emotional and psychological issues.

Rod and Doris Weber were commissioned for ministry (equivalent to ordination) on 4 March 1979; Doris was the first woman recognized as a pastoral leader in the then Western Ontario Mennonite Conference.

In 1994 the church was sold to the Stratford Church of Christ, and the congregation moved to share part of the facility at the new Greenwood Court retirement community in Stratford.

Bibliography

Baechler, Reta. "From Country Roads to City Streets: A Brief Story of Avon Mennonite Church in the City of Stratford, Ontario." Ontario Mennonite History 19, no. 1 (May 2001): 1-4.

Mennonite Reporter (22 August 1994): 15; (19 September 1994): 16; (12 December 1994): 5.

Church records at Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

Additional Information

Address: 90 Greenwood Dr., Stratford, ON, N5A 7W5

Phone: 519-273-2261.

Website: Avon Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Canada

Mennonite Church Eastern Canada

Avon Mennonite Church Pastoral Leaders

Name	Years of Service
Jake Spenler	1955-1962
Ken Bender	1962-1966
Arthur Leis	1966-1968
Winston Martin	1968-1973
Rod & Doris Weber	1974-1984
Gary Horst	1984-2004
Anne Campion (Associate)	1999-2004
Jim & Ingrid Loepp Thiessen (Interim)	2004-2005
Melissa Kirby (Associate)	?-2008
Herb Sawatzky	2005-2013
Jane Kuepfer (Associate)	2009-2013
Troy Watson	2014-present

Avon Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1965	18
1975	31
1985	44
1995	69
2000	92
2011	135

Map

Map:Avon Mennonite Church (Stratford, Ontario, Canada)

Author(s)	Sam Steiner
Date Published	April 2014

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Sam. "Avon Mennonite Church (Stratford, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2014. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Avon_Mennonite_Church_(Stratford,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=139757.

APA style

Steiner, Sam. (April 2014). Avon Mennonite Church (Stratford, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Avon_Mennonite_Church_(Stratford,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=139757.

---

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.