The Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada was the result of an integration of three Ontario Mennonite groups: the Mennonite Conference of Ontario and Quebec (5,110 members, 1987), the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference (3,195 members, 1987), and the Conference of United Mennonite Churches in Ontario (5,192 members, 1987). The first two groups were conferences of the Mennonite Church (MC). The last was a provincial conference related to the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, which was one of the districts of the General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM).
The Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada was rooted in a long history of cooperation including the formation of the Nonresistant Relief Organization (1917), Conference of Historic Peace Churches (1940s), a joint Mennonite Mission and Service Board (1950s), and Conrad Grebel College (1960s). In 1973 the three conferences formed an Inter-Mennonite Conference (Ontario) to direct the growing cooperative work in mission, education, and congregational resources. The separate conference structures remained intact, and they reserved the right to make final decisions on policy and budgets.
A 1979 proposal to amalgamate all three groups was defeated. In 1986, however, the conferences decided to "integrate" (this term, it was felt, implied less of a melting pot than "merger" or "amalgamation") by 1988.
In March 1987 delegates from the three conferences approved a structural model for the proposed integration. They also decided to become associate members of each other's North American general conferences for a six-year get-acquainted period rather than leave wider affiliations up to each individual congregation. The Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada was officially inaugurated on 1 March 1988. In 1997 the conference numbered 97 congregations with 13,630 members; all but one congregation hold dual conference affiliation (MC and GCM).
In October 2001 the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada changed its name to Mennonite Church Eastern Canada in recognition of the transformation of the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church into Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada (formerly Conference of Mennonites in Canada). Instead of relating to separate binational and national denominational structures, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada now was affiliated only with a national body. In 2001 the conference included 95 congregations with a total membership of 14,075.
In 2010 the following 99 congregations were members of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada:
| Congregation | Location |
| Agape Fellowship House Church | London, ON |
| Avon Mennonite Church | Stratford, ON |
| Bethany Mennonite Church | Virgil, ON |
| Bethel Mennonite Church | Elora, ON |
| Blenheim Ecumenical House Church | Kitchener, ON |
| Bloomingdale Mennonite Church | Bloomingdale, ON |
| Breslau Mennonite Church | Breslau, ON |
| Brussels Mennonite Fellowship | Brussels, ON |
| Calvary Church Ayr (Mennonite) | Ayr, ON |
| Calvary Mennonite Church | Monetville, ON |
| Cassel Mennonite Church | Tavistock, ON |
| Chin Christian Church | Kitchener, ON |
| Community Mennonite Church of Stouffville | Stouffville, ON |
| Community Mennonite Fellowship | Drayton, ON |
| Crosshill Mennonite Church | Millbank, ON |
| Danforth Mennonite Church | Toronto, ON |
| East Zorra Mennonite Church | Tavistock, ON |
| Église évangélique Mennonite de Joliette | Joliette, QC |
| Église évangélique Mennonite de Rawdon | Rawdon, QC |
| Elmira Mennonite Church | Elmira, ON |
| Erb Street Mennonite Church | Waterloo, ON |
| Erie View United Mennonite Church | Port Rowan, ON |
| Faith Mennonite Church | Leamington, ON |
| First Hmong Mennonite Church | Kitchener, ON |
| First Mennonite Church | Kitchener, ON |
| First Mennonite Church | Vineland, ON |
| Floradale Mennonite Church | Floradale, ON |
| Grace Lao Mennonite Church | Kitchener, ON |
| Grace Mennonite Church | St. Catharines, ON |
| Hagerman Mennonite Church | Markham, ON |
| Hamilton Mennonite Church | Hamilton, ON |
| Hanover Mennonite Church | Hanover, ON |
| Harrow Mennonite Church | Harrow, ON |
| Hawkesville Mennonite Church | Hawkesville, ON |
| Hillcrest Mennonite Church | New Hamburg, ON |
| Hunta Mennonite Church | Hunta, ON |
| Iglesia Menonita Refugio de Paz | Sherbrooke, QC |
| Jane Finch Faith Community | Downsview, ON |
| Kingsfield-Clinton | Clinton, ON |
| Kitchener-Waterloo House Church | Waterloo, ON |
| Lao Canadian Evangelical Mennonite Church | Toronto, ON |
| Lao Christian Fellowship | St. Catharines, ON |
| Leamington United Mennonite Church | Leamington, ON |
| Listowel Mennonite Church | Listowel, ON |
| Living Water Community Christian Fellowship | New Hamburg, ON |
| Mannheim Mennonite Church | Petersburg, ON |
| Maple View Mennonite Church | Wellesley, ON |
| Markham Chinese Mennonite Church | Markham, ON |
| Markham Christian Worship Centre | Markham, ON |
| McArthur's Mills Christian Fellowship | Bancroft, ON |
| Mennonite Fellowship of Montreal | Montreal, QC |
| Milverton Mennonite Fellowship | Milverton, ON |
| Mississauga Mennonite Fellowship | Mississauga, ON |
| Nairn Mennonite Church | Ailsa Craig, ON |
| Niagara United Mennonite Church | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON |
| Nith Valley Mennonite Church | New Hamburg, ON |
| North Leamington United Mennonite Church | Leamington, ON |
| Ottawa Mennonite Church | Ottawa, ON |
| Petitcodiac Mennonite Church | Petitcodiac, NB |
| Pioneer Park Christian Fellowship | Kitchener, ON |
| Poole Mennonite Church | Milverton, ON |
| Preston Mennonite Church | Cambridge, ON |
| Quest Christian Community | St. Catharines, ON |
| Rainham Mennonite Church | Selkirk, ON |
| Rehoboth Evangelical Church | Toronto, ON |
| River of Life Fellowship | Kitchener, ON |
| Riverdale Mennonite Church | Millbank, ON |
| Rockway Mennonite Church | Kitchener, ON |
| Rouge Valley Mennonite Church | Markham, ON |
| Shantz Mennonite Church | Baden, ON |
| soulspace | Stratford, ON |
| St. Agatha Mennonite Church | Baden, ON |
| St. Catharines United Mennonite Church | St. Catharines, ON |
| St. Jacobs Mennonite Church | St. Jacobs, ON |
| Steinmann Mennonite Church | Baden, ON |
| Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church | Kitchener, ON |
| Tavistock Mennonite Church | Tavistock, ON |
| The Church of the Living Word in Ottawa | Ottawa, ON |
| The Gathering Church | Kitchener, ON |
| Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church | Toronto, ON |
| Toronto Mennonite New Life Church | Toronto, ON |
| Toronto United Lao Mennonite Church | Toronto, ON |
| Toronto United Mennonite Church | Toronto, ON |
| Tree of Life/Arbre de Vie | Monetville, ON |
| Valleyview Mennonite Church | London, ON |
| Village International Mennonite Church | Ottawa, ON |
| Vineland United Mennonite Church | Vineland, ON |
| Vision Mennonite Church | London, ON |
| Wanner Mennonite Church | Cambridge, ON |
| Waterloo North Mennonite Church | Waterloo, ON |
| Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church | Waterloo, ON |
| Waters Mennonite Church | Lively, ON |
| Wellesley Mennonite Church | Wellesley, ON |
| West Hills Mennonite Fellowship | New Hamburg, ON |
| Wideman Mennonite Fellowship | Markham, ON |
| Wilmot Mennonite Church | New Hamburg, ON |
| Windsor Mennonite Fellowship | Windsor, ON |
| Zion Mennonite Fellowship | Elmira, ON |
| Zurich Mennonite Church | Zurich, ON |
Bibliography
Mennonite Reporter (9 November 1987): 5.
Mennonite Yearbook & Directory, 1988-89, ed. James E. Horsch. Scottdale, Pa.: Mennonite Publishing House, 1989: 52-54.
Mennonite Yearbook & Directory, 1997, ed. James E. Horsch. Scottdale, Pa.: Mennonite Publishing House, 1997: 43.
Additional Information
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada website
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| Author(s)
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Ron Rempel
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Sam Steiner
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| Date Published
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July 2010
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Cite This Article
MLA style
Rempel, Ron and Sam Steiner. "Mennonite Church Eastern Canada." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2010. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_Eastern_Canada&oldid=89709.
APA style
Rempel, Ron and Sam Steiner. (July 2010). Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_Eastern_Canada&oldid=89709.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, pp. 569-570. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
