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Southridge Community Church in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada began in Louth Township, just west of St. Catharines, Ontario, in 1979 after the public school board decided to close the Fairview Public School in that community. Louth Township had been identified as a possible location for a church plant, so a group of Ontario Mennonite Brethren purchased the school for $81,000, with some assistance in a the down payment from local Mennonite Brethren churches.

The original members came from the Grantham Mennonite Brethren, Fairview Mennonite Brethren and Vineland Mennonite Brethren churches. The first Sunday public service was held 3 February 1980; an official opening of the sanctuary constructed from two former classrooms took place 1 June 1980. The congregation formally organized under the name of Fairview Louth Mennonite Brethren Community Church. It had 49 charter members. It operated without a local pastor until September 1980 when John Eckert, a high school vice principal, was hired on a part time basis.

The original sanctuary proved inadequate, and in late 1982 work began on an addition, which included a sanctuary, basement and kitchen. It was dedicated on 15 May 1983. An additional expansion took place in 1991 with a new youth room, nursery and elevator.

By 2003 the congregation had outgrown its location, and desired to have a greater impact on St. Catharines, especially among the poor and marginalized. It moved to Glenridge Avenue in St. Catharines, where it was renamed the Southridge Community Church. Within the first year it became a host location for "Out of the Cold" (emergency wintertime accommodation), and in 2005, in partnership with Ontario Works, Niagara Health System, and Housing Help, it opened the Southridge Shelter as a year-round homeless shelter with 27 beds for men and eight for women. It also developed services to marginalized seniors, and ministries to single-parent families.

Southridge also developed a vision to become a multi-site church. In 2009 Gateway Christian Fellowship, a 10-year-old church plant in St. Catharines voted to merge with Southridge and became the North End campus of Southridge in 2010. This campus ended prior to 2016. A Welland campus was launched on 8 November 2009 with a focused ministry towards single-parent families. In 2012 Southridge "adopted" Vineland Mennonite Brethren Church as the fourth of their sites. The focus of this campus became ministry to Caribbean migrant workers who worked on local farms.

In 2023 the campuses in St. Catharines, Welland and Vineland continued operations.

In fall 2022 Southridge Community Church was placed under suspension by the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches due to publicly communicating its intention to invite members of the LGBTQ community into all levels of participation, leadership and decision-making.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J. Steiner
	Richard D. Thiessen
Date Published	February 2023

Braun, Karla. "Church partnership 'remarkable to see'." Mennonite Brethren Herald 49, no. 5 (May 2010): 19.

Braun, Karla. "Expressing common humanity." Mennonite Brethren Heald 51, no. 8 (August 2012): 13

Esau, Maggie. "New facilities in an old style." Mennonite Brethren Herald 30, no. 22 (22 November 1991): 16.

"Fairview-Louth Mennonite Brethren Community Church." Mennonite Brethren Herald 27, no. 11 (27 May 1988): 52.

Friesen, Rudy. "Building on long-time ties with community." Mennonite Brethren Herald 19, no. 3 (1 February 1980): 17.

Friesen, Rudy. "Old school keeps its place in community." Mennonite Brethren Herald 19, no. 14 (18 July 1980): 28-29.

"It's been a good year." Mennonite Brethren Herald 20, no. 9 (24 April 1981): 17-18.

Longhurst, John. "Ontario MB Leader Ousted; Two Congregations Suspended." Anabaptist World. 14 November 2022. Web. https://anabaptistworld.org/ontario-mb-leader-ousted-two-congregations-suspended/.

Mennonite Reporter (3 March 1980): 14.

Penner, Marge. "Fairview-Louth dedicates new sanctuary." Mennonite Brethren Herald 22, no. 13 (8 July 1983): 22.

Weeks, Stacey. "Congregation closes, joins multisite church." Mennonite Brethren Herald 51, no. 2 (February 2012): 21.

When Your Children Shall Ask: A History of the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 1957-1982. 1982: 79-81.

Additional Information

Address: 201 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, ON L2T 3J6

St. Catharines Location: 201 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines

Welland Location: Welland Community Wellness Centre, 145 Lincoln Street, Welland

Vineland Location: 3970 Glendale Avenue, Vineland

Phone: 905-682-9901

Website: https://southridgechurch.ca/

Denominational Affiliations: Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

Ordained Leaders at Southridge Community Church

Name	Years of Service
John Eckert	1980-1997
Chris Fowler (Associate)	1994-1997 2003-present
Jeff Lockyer	1998-present
Mike Krause	1998-present
Peter Warkentin	2005-?
Rick Zwiers	2005-present
Ed Willms	2010-2012
Mark Johnson	2012-2013?
Tim Arnold	2008-present
Mike Meinema	2016-present

Membership at Southridge Community Church

Year	Membership
1980	49
1988	87
1995	116
2005	250
2015	350

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. and Richard D. Thiessen. "Southridge Community Church (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2023. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Southridge_Community_Church_(St._Catharines,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=174940.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. and Richard D. Thiessen. (February 2023). Southridge Community Church (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Southridge_Community_Church_(St._Catharines,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=174940.

Southridge Community Church (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada)

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