Église évangelique mennonite de Rawdon (Rawdon, Quebec, Canada)
The Église évangelique mennonite de Rawdon began services in 1980, and formally organized in 1982. Rawdon is a small bilingual town 100 km north of Montreal, Quebec.
Beginning in the 1950s, Mel and Ellen Schmidt, who worked at the Rock of Ages Camp near Chertsey, had been traveling 50 km to Église évangelique de Joliette to worship and eventually became members there. Over the years other families from Rawdon began attending as well. Transportation was a problem and as numbers grew the Joliette building became inadequate.
In 1976 David Shantz, pastor in Joliette, and André Joly began Bible studies in Rawdon, assisted by Daniel Milton and John Docherty. In 1980 Sunday evening services began in the Rawdon United Church. This rental continued until a new Mennonite building was completed in September 1991 with substantial construction help from Mennonites from Joliette, Montreal, Vermont and all over Ontario. The Église évangélique mennonite de Rawdon was officially organized and recognized as a congregation separate from Joliette in 1982 within Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada. The congregation grew to about 45 during the pastorate of David Shantz.
Various conflicts and part-time pastorates from 1991 till the present time have left a small congregation in a large building. There were periods when there was no pastor. At these times, members of the church led the mid-week meetings and guest pastors/speakers from Montreal and elsewhere brought messages during the worship service on Sunday mornings. Throughout evangelism has remained a major emphasis with support from the Conseil Mennonite du Québec. The church offered a door-to-door outreach ministry, services in three seniors residences, bi-monthly coffee houses at which films were shown, a program led by a musical group, guest speakers, and many fellowship meals.
In 2006, a resident pastorate for Église évangelique mennonite de Rawdon was restarted, sharing a pastor with Joliette.
The congregation held its final service on 5 June 2011 after active membership had declined to five elderly members.
The language of worship was French although there had always been English members.
Bibliography
Martin, Janet in Hervé Finès (ed.), Album II du protestantisme français en Amérique du Nord. Montreal: L'Aurore, 1988: 68-69.
Mennonite Reporter (12 May 1980): 12; (12 October 1981): 14; (1 October 1990): B1; (29 July 1991): 11; (29 June 1992): B2.
Rogalsky, Dave. "Small Quebec Congregation Closes." Canadian Mennonite (1 August 2011): 26.
Additional Information
Address: 4100 Queen Street, Rawdon, Quebec J0K 1S0
Phone: 450-834-6872
Denominational Affiliations:
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada
Église évangelique mennonite de Rawdon Pastoral Leaders
| Minister | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| André Joly & Danny Milton (with Joliette) | Jan 1976-1979 Dec |
| David Shantz (with Joliette) | Jan 1980-1981 Sep |
| Armand Roussin | Jan 1982-1984 Jan |
| David Shantz | Sep 1984-1991 Apr |
| Denis Tremblay | Aug 1992-1993 July |
| Jean-Guy Lantin (1/2 time) | Mar 1994-1999 June |
| Daniel Genest (part-time) | Jan 2000-2005 Dec. |
| André Ouimet (with Joliette) | Oct 2006-2009 |
| Jean M'Baitoloum (part-time) | 2010-2011 |
Église évangelique mennonite de Rawdon Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1985 | 15 |
| 1995 | 12 |
| 2000 | 11 |
| 2005 | 15 |
| 2008 | 15 |
| 2011 | 5 |
| Author(s) | Richard Lougheed |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | September 2011 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Lougheed, Richard and Richard D. Thiessen. "Église évangelique mennonite de Rawdon (Rawdon, Quebec, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2011. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=%C3%89glise_%C3%A9vangelique_mennonite_de_Rawdon_(Rawdon,_Quebec,_Canada)&oldid=142262.
APA style
Lougheed, Richard and Richard D. Thiessen. (September 2011). Église évangelique mennonite de Rawdon (Rawdon, Quebec, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=%C3%89glise_%C3%A9vangelique_mennonite_de_Rawdon_(Rawdon,_Quebec,_Canada)&oldid=142262.
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