Kingsfield-Zurich Mennonite Church (Zurich, Ontario, Canada)
The Zurich Mennonite Church in Zurich, Ontario, Canada, began in spring 1908 when services began to be held in a former Baptist church on the main street in Zurich. The fledgling congregation was primarily composed of persons formerly affiliated with the nearby Blake Amish Mennonite congregation were revival meetings held by Peter Ropp of Berne, Michigan resulted in a number of converts. However these converts would not accept the dress restrictions required by the Amish Mennonites and were refused baptism. Jonas Snider, a Mennonite bishop of the Mennonite Conference of Ontario from Waterloo County, then performed the baptisms. Peter Ropp temporarily moved to Zurich to help organize the congregation in its first year. Elderly Minister John Gascho and about 50 other members transferred from the Blake congregation the summer of 2008.
A building was erected in 1910 at a cost of $3,600, with renovations and additions in 1948 and 1975. A new building was constructed outside of town in 1989 at a cost just under $1,000,000.
The congregation developed a full range of activities for its members and the community. A women's sewing circle began in 1937. Vacation Bible School began the same year, and later developed into a community effort. The congregation helped develop a coffee house in Grand Bend, Ontario in the 1960s, as well as a mission outreach in Exeter, Ontario known as the Thames Road Mission.
In the 1990s the congregation again talked about a church planting initiative. This finally resulted in the formation on 28 October 2007 of Kingsfield-Clinton. The Zurich congregation also began to use the prefix Kingsfield, and the two groups considered themselves part of a multiplying church. "Kingsfield" was derived from 1 Corinthians 3:9, which says "you are God's field," reflecting the congregation's desire to be part of a "multiplying movement of churches who bring the kingdom of Jesus Christ to relevant reality where we live and everywhere we go."
An earlier Mennonite congregation in the area had been known as the Hay Mennonite Church.
Bibliography
Mennonite Reporter (21 August 1989): 10.
Burkholder, L. J. A Brief History of the Mennonites in Ontario. Kitchener, Ontario: Mennonite Conference of Ontario, 1935: 101.
Schade, Jack. "Zurich Mennonite Church Centennial." Web. http://www.kingsfieldcommon.ca/zurich-mennonite-church-centennial/ (accessed 8 January 2014).
Zurich Mennonite Church: Seventy-five Years 1908-1983. 1983.
Church records at church and Mennonite Archives of Ontario.
Additional Information
Address: 37818 Zurich Hensall Rd, Box 131, Zurich, Ontario N0M 2T0
Phone: (519) 236-4933
Website: http://www.kingsfieldcommon.ca/zurich-mennonite-church/
Denominational Affiliations:
Mennonite Conference of Ontario and Quebec, 1908-1988
Mennonite Church (MC), 1908-1999
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, 1988-
Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada, 1999-
Zurich Mennonite Church Pastors
| Name | Years of Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| John Gascho | 1908-1916 | ||
| Christian Schrag | 1911-1939 | ||
| Stephen M. Peachey | 1935-1952 | ||
| Cyril Gingerich | 1951/1952 | ||
| Albert Martin | 1949-1961 | ||
| Orval Jantzi | 1961-1966 | ||
| Ephraim Gingerich | 1966-1970 | ||
| Cyril Gingerich (Interim) | 1971 | ||
| Clayton Kuepfer | 1972-1990 | ||
| Paul Brunner (Interim) |
1991/1992 | ||
| Grace Brunner (Interim) |
1991/1992 | ||
| Winston Martin (Interim) |
1992 | ||
| Phil Bender | 1993-1997 | ||
| Julie Bender | 1993-1997 | ||
| Reynold Kipfer (Interim) |
1998-1999 | ||
| Harold Shantz | 2000-2003 | ||
| Judy Shantz | 2000-2003 | ||
| Doug Schade (Youth) | 2000-2002 | ||
| Virgil Gingerich (Interim) |
2003 | ||
| Phil Wagler | 2003-2010 | ||
| Tim Doherty (Associate) |
2004-2011 | ||
| Tom Roes (Associate) |
2007-Present | ||
| Ken Gazley (Intentional interim) | 2012-2014
- |
Ryan Jantzi | 2016-present |
Zurich Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 143 |
| 1965 | 140 |
| 1975 | 185 |
| 1985 | 233 |
| 1995 | 268 |
| 2000 | 276 |
| 2015 | 235 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Roy S. Koch. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1047. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
Zurich Mennonite Church (MC) located in the village of Zurich, Huron County, Ontario, about two miles east of Lake Huron, affiliated with the Ontario Conference, was organized on 26 March 1908 by former members of the Amish congregation nearby. Christian Schrag was ordained minister on 18 February 1911. Others ministers with date of ordination were Stephen M. Peachey 1935, Gordon Schrag 1937, Cyril Gingerich 1951, Albert Martin 1949, and Hubert Schwartzentruber 1958. Stanley Sauder was licensed to serve as pastor of the Thames Road congregation in Exeter, an outpost of the Zurich congregation. In 1959 the congregation had 148 members, with Albert Martin as bishop-pastor.
Map
Map:Kingsfield-Zurich Mennonite Church (Zurich, Ontario, Canada)
| Author(s) | Sam Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | January 2014 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Sam. "Kingsfield-Zurich Mennonite Church (Zurich, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2014. Web. 23 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kingsfield-Zurich_Mennonite_Church_(Zurich,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=133078.
APA style
Steiner, Sam. (January 2014). Kingsfield-Zurich Mennonite Church (Zurich, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kingsfield-Zurich_Mennonite_Church_(Zurich,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=133078.
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