Killarney Mennonite Church (Killarney, Manitoba, Canada)
The Killarney Mennonite Church was dedicated to the Lord on 1 January 1961 with Elder Gerhard G. Neufeld of Whitewater Mennonite Church officiating at the dedication ceremony. The groundwork for the congregation was laid in the fall of 1960 when the Ninga Mennonite Church in Ninga, a branch congregation of the Whitewater (Gemeinde) Mennonite Church, closed to join together with the mother congregation in Boissevain. This left a large distance for some people to travel to attend church either in Boissevain or south of Lena. As a result, meetings were held to decide whether or not to start a new church in Killarney. After an initial vote that decided against starting a new church, another meeting was called on 19 October 1960 when it was heard that a small church building was for sale by tender in the town of Wingham. After determining what they believed it would cost to buy, move, and renovate the structure they decided to take pledges from those present to see if they would have the finances to continue. When the amount of the pledges had been tallied they found the amount of pledges to be nearly identical to the number they had estimated with pledges only being short five dollars of the estimated cost! This was received as God’s signal to go ahead with the project and with that the planning moved swiftly ahead.
In the years that followed the church steadily grew. The first ministers of the church were Frank Peters and Peter Harms with G. G. Neufeld from the Whitewater Church in Boissevain assisting with baptism and communion services until 1965. The church continued to grow and in 1966 the new church (the present day sanctuary) was constructed. Another expansion project was undertaken in the fall of 1980 and the addition (the present day foyer and balcony area) was dedicated on 14 June 1981. The church celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1986.
The church’s mission statement reads: "Serving with our hands – Loving with our hearts – Showing Christ’s love – Growing God’s family." The church currently has Jr. Youth (ages 11-13) and Sr. Youth (ages 14-18) programs that meet on Friday and Saturday night respectively. There are various women’s groups as well as small group Bible study and a prayer group that meets weekly. There are Sunday School programs for all ages as well as various other group ministries within the church that run throughout the week in addition to the Sunday morning worship service.
In 2011 the church celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Bibliography
"Killarney Mennonite Church 1961-2011: Celebrating 50 Years of God’s Faithfulness." Killarney Mennonite Church. 2011. Web. 14 November 2013. http://www.killarneychurch.com/church-history.html.
Additional Information
Address: 66 Bay Ave, Killarney, MB R0K 1G0
Telephone: 204-523-8959
Website: Killarney Mennonite Church
| Author(s) | Richard D Thiessen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | November 2013 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Thiessen, Richard D. "Killarney Mennonite Church (Killarney, Manitoba, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2013. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Killarney_Mennonite_Church_(Killarney,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=104133.
APA style
Thiessen, Richard D. (November 2013). Killarney Mennonite Church (Killarney, Manitoba, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Killarney_Mennonite_Church_(Killarney,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=104133.
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