Cedar Hills Mennonite Church (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada)
Cedar Hills began as a Sunday school in New Westminster in the mid-1930s. The congregation began services in 1938, and ministers from First United Mennonite Church in Vancouver and Mennonite Brethren ministers in the surrounding cities would come in by bus, bicycle or car to preach. After the first few years, this joint ministry discontinued, but the Sunday school continued under Peter Dyck's leadership. Eventually, John Goertz began serving the fledgling group. The first building was occupied in 1943 and the congregation formally organized in 1945 as the United Mennonite Church of South Westminster. The congregation joined the Conference of United Mennonite Churches of British Columbia (now Mennonite Church British Columbia) on 13 January 1946. Peter Dyck and John Goertz are considered the founding leaders of the group. The congregation was later known as New Westminster United Mennonite Church and became known as New Westminster Mennonite Church in 1960. In 1951 they found their first full time pastor, Abram "Abe" Neufeld.
By 1962 the congregation was looking for a new site for a church because their current accommodations were getting too small. In 1963 land was purchased and early 1964 construction began. However, the contractor went out of business and the congregation was forced to finish the work themselves. 4 October 1964 the first service was held in the basement, the building was dedicated 21 March 1965 and the congregation renamed Cedar Hills Mennonite Church.
On 12 September 2004 the congregation merged with Living Hope Christian Fellowship which had been meeting at the church and Cedar Hills was officially dissolved on 31 December that same year.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (21 August 1959): 3; (24 November 1961): 28.
Churches in Profile. Clearbrook, BC: Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1978: 21-26.
Historical sketch, 1938-1971, MHSC collection, Mennonite Archives of Ontario.
Lehn, Cornelia. Frontier Challenge: A Story of the Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia. Clearbrook, BC: Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1990: 117-118.
Mennonite Reporter (11 November 1991): 12.
Archival Records
Church records were deposited with the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia Archives in 2004.
Microfilmed records at Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Additional Information
Former Location: 12246 100 Avenue, Surrey, BC V3V 2X1
Denominational Affiliations:
Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia / Mennonite Church British Columbia (1946-2004)
Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1950-2004)
General Conference Mennonite Church (1959-1999)
Cedar Hills Mennonite Church Ministers
| Minister | Years |
|---|---|
| Abram Neufeld | 1951-1959 |
| Abe Neufeld | 1960-1962 |
| John Hiebert | 1962 |
| Rueben Siemens | 1963-1968 |
| Delmer Epp | 1968-1975 |
| Rudy Goerzen | 1975-1982 |
| John R. Unrau | 1983-1991 |
| Helmut Isaak (interim) | 1992 |
| Clare Neufeld | 1992-2002 |
| Helmut Isaak | 2003-2004 |
Cedar Hills Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1948 | 18 |
| 1949 | 22 |
| 1952 | 25 |
| 1955 | 47 |
| 1959 | 60 |
| 1965 | 82 |
| 1970 | 100 |
| 1975 | 123 |
| 1980 | 142 |
| 1985 | 129 |
| 1990 | 134 |
| 1995 | 121 |
| 2000 | 51 |
| 2004 | 7 |
| Author(s) | Waylon, Hugo Friesen Klix |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | May 2012 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Klix, Waylon, Hugo Friesen and Richard D. Thiessen. "Cedar Hills Mennonite Church (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2012. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cedar_Hills_Mennonite_Church_(Surrey,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=167213.
APA style
Klix, Waylon, Hugo Friesen and Richard D. Thiessen. (May 2012). Cedar Hills Mennonite Church (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cedar_Hills_Mennonite_Church_(Surrey,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=167213.
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