Wilmot Mennonite Church (Baden, Ontario, Canada)
In the early 1960s in rural Wilmot Township, Waterloo County, Ontario there were seven congregations of the Mennonite Conference of Ontario in close geographic proximity. Some of these small congregations began to share pastors, who served multiple congregations each Sunday. Conference leaders suggested several mergers, or even consolidation into one centralized congregation in Wilmot Township. This did not happen, but several mergers would take place. One of these resulted in the Wilmot Mennonite Church.
In 1966, when Lester Bauman was pastor of the Geiger Mennonite Church, the nearby Baden Mennonite Church, located in the town of Baden, invited him to serve them as pastor as well. They worked together in a variety of ways--alternating Sunday evening services and combined worship services during the summer. In 1971 when Stanley Shantz served as pastor, the two congregations agreed to become one in all but name and membership. In 1974 the congregations agreed to joint services, which were held at the Geiger building because of its larger size. The unofficially merged group was known as the Baden-Geiger Mennonite Church.
In November 1975, the Geiger building burned. The congregations then moved to Baden, using the Township Hall as their headquarters while renovations were made to the Baden building in order to better facilitate the combined group. Then services were held for a time in the renovated Baden church building.
On 15 May 1977 the a vote came to formally amalgamate the congregations under the name Wilmot Mennonite Church. They also decided to build a new church building on the former Geiger property. This was completed in 1979. The Baden property continued to be used as a fellowship and activity hall for the congregation until it also burned on 14 April 2000. This building had been rented by the West Hills Mennonite Church for Sunday worship for about nine years.
Bibliography
Caldwell, Brian. "Baden church building fire set." Kitchener-Waterloo Record (18 April 2000): B1.
Mennonite Reporter (9 February 1976): 4; (3 October 1977): 13; (21 January 1980): 9.
Additional Information
Address: 2995 Bleams Rd. New Hamburg, ON, N3A 3J3
Phone: 519-634-5030
Website: Wilmot Mennonite Church
Denominational Affiliations:
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada
Wilmot Mennonite Church Pastoral Leaders
| Minister | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Lester Bauman | 1966-1971 |
| Stanley Shantz | 1971-1979 |
| Will Stoltz | 1979-1986 |
| Jean-Jacques Goulet | 1986-1992 |
| Glyn Jones | 1992-2003 |
| Renee Sauder (Interim) | Sept 2003-Aug 2005 |
| Gary Horst | Sept 2005-Aug 2008 |
| David Rogalsky | Oct 2008-Aug 2016 |
| Susan Allison-Jones | Sep 2016-present |
Wilmot Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 144 |
| 1975 | 135 |
| 1980 | 111 |
| 1985 | 115 |
| 2000 | 125 |
| 2008 | 140 |
| 2015 | 120 |
| Author(s) | Sam Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | January 2017 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Sam. "Wilmot Mennonite Church (Baden, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2017. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wilmot_Mennonite_Church_(Baden,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=147037.
APA style
Steiner, Sam. (January 2017). Wilmot Mennonite Church (Baden, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wilmot_Mennonite_Church_(Baden,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=147037.
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