Cassel Mennonite Church (Tavistock, Ontario, Canada)
On 5 May 1935, 162 people met to worship for the first time as the Cassel Amish Mennonite Church. The Cassel congregation resulted from overcrowded conditions at the nearby East Zorra Amish Mennonite Church, located on the 16th Line of East Zorra township on Oxford County, Ontario. The Cassel congregation purchased an unused church building from the Evangelical Church on the 17th Line, just one concession road to the east.
Until 1964 the Cassel and East Zorra congregations functioned as one congregation with a joint pastoral team of Bishop Daniel Iutzi, ministers Jacob R. Bender and Menno Kipfer, and deacons Dan Wagler and David Swartzentruber. The preaching switched from German to English in 1930. In 1964, Cassel voted to become an independent congregation when Vernon Zehr was pastor.
In 1994-1995, the congregation carried out a major addition and other significant renovations to the church building.
On 7-9 May 2010, the congregation celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Bibliography
Lichti, Fred. A History of the East Zorra (Amish) Mennonite Church 1837-1977. Tavistock, Ont.: East Zorra Mennonite Church, 1977, 132 pp.
Mennonite Reporter (26 December 1994): 9.
"Our history." Cassel Mennonite Church. 2016. Web. 5 December 2016. http://www.casselmc.com/our-history.html.
Rogalsky, Dave. "Comfortable Being Rural: Cassel Mennonite Church Celebrates 75th Anniversary." Canadian Mennonite (12 July 2010): 22.
Zehr, Vernon and Leona Bender. Cassel Mennonite Church 1935-1985. Cassel Mennonite Church, 1985, 40 pp.
Zehr, Vernon, Leona Bender and John Bender. Cassel Mennonite Church 1935-2010: from the past will come the future, 75th anniversary celebration 2010. Tavistock, Ont. : The Church, 2010. 161 pp.
Archival Records
Church records at Mennonite Archives of Ontario.
Additional Information
Address: 696556 17th Line, Tavistock, Ontario
Phone: 519-462-2251
Website: Cassel Mennonite Church
Denominational Affiliations:
Western Ontario Mennonite Conference (1964-1988)
Mennonite Church (1964-1999)
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (1988-present)
Mennonite Church Canada (1995-present)
Cassel Mennonite Ministers
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Daniel S. Iutzi (Bishop) | 1935-1948 |
| Jacob R. Bender | 1935-1947 |
| Menno Kuepfer | 1935-1940 |
| Daniel Wagler | 1940-1958 |
| David Schwartzentruber | 1940-1958 |
| Joel Schwartzentruber | 1947-1958 |
| Henry Yantzi (Bishop) | 1948-1958 |
| Vernon Zehr | 1958-1973 |
| Ephraim Gingerich | 1973-1979 |
| Dan Nighswander | 1979-1984 |
| Mary Jane Brenneman (interim) | 1984-1985 |
| Steve Martin | 1985-1987 |
| Steve Gerber (interim) | 1987 |
| Gordon Martin | 1988-1997 |
| Jim Whitehead | 1997-2012 |
| Wanda Roth Amstutz | 2012-2024 |
| Josh Martin | 2024- |
Cassel Mennonite Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1965 | 173 |
| 1975 | 163 |
| 1985 | 179 |
| 1995 | 166 |
| 2000 | 153 |
| 2015 | 142 |
| 2020 | 127 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2016 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Cassel Mennonite Church (Tavistock, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2016. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cassel_Mennonite_Church_(Tavistock,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=178770.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (December 2016). Cassel Mennonite Church (Tavistock, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cassel_Mennonite_Church_(Tavistock,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=178770.
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