The Poole Mennonite congregation began in 1874 with descendants of pioneers known as Amish Mennonite who lived in Mornington Township, and had originally emigrated from the Alsace area of France. Originally members of the Wellesley Amish Mennonite church district, they began meeting in homes in Mornington Township as the population increased.

In 1886 some members decided to build a meetinghouse on the site still occupied by Poole Mennonite Church. Other members disagreed, giving rise to the group that became known as the Old Order Amish, and which continued to hold services in homes. In 1903 additional contentious issues arose within the meetinghouse group regarding the introduction of Sunday School, worship style, etc. Most of the leaders then left with some of the congregation to start the Nafziger or Poole (West) congregation. The Poole congregation was first known as the Mornington Amish Mennonite congregation.

In 1947 Poole's original meetinghouse was enlarged and remodelled to accommodate a growing membership. At the same time, the church was jacked up and a basement installed under the original building. By 1963 the building was again crowded as well as structurally unsound, so the congregation decided to erect a new worship building. The first service was held in the building in 1966. In 1996 an addition on the north side of the building made the entire building accessible, and provided offices and better facilities for visiting and Sunday School.

Poole Mennonite Church, June 2003

The members of Poole Mennonite have been involved in outreach over the years. In the 1940s members from Poole together with members from Mapleview started meeting for worship in Millbank in a building purchased from the Presbyterian Church. This evolved into the Riverdale Mennonite Church in Millbank. In 1981 some families worked with the Western Ontario Mennonite Mission Board to start a congregation in Milverton. Poole held a commissioning service in 1982 for three families who gave leadership to the fledgling fellowship. More families from Poole joined this group a few years later. In 2003 the congregation assisted Mennonites from Mexico who moved into the area by providing English as a Second Language classes for the women and day care for their preschool children. The Listowel and Riverdale congregations assisted in this outreach.

Since 1874 Poole's basic beliefs have not changed. However, the congregation's needs have changed and programming has adapted accordingly. In 2003 Poole Mennonite had two pastors and a team of elders who give spiritual leadership while the church council gives administrative direction to the congregation. The language of worship is English; the transition from German occurred in the 1930s.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Brenda Schultz
Date Published	September 2003

Burkholder, L. J. A Brief History of the Mennonites in Ontario . Kitchener, Ontario: Mennonite Conference of Ontario, 1935: 234-236.

CMC Nexus (March 1995), 11.

"History of the Poole Mennonite Church - formerly known as the Poole Amish Mennonite Church." n.d. 3 pp.; Mennonites in Canada collection, "20-Poole", Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

A History of the Poole Mennonite Church: a People on the Way, 1874-1986. Milverton, Ontario: Poole Mennonite Church, 1986, 74 pp.

Mennonite Reporter (7 July 1986): 12.

Records at Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

Additional Information

Address: 6475 121 Rd E. Poole N0K 1S0

Mailing Address: Box 249, Milverton, ON, N0K 1M0

Phone: 519-595-4622

Website: Poole Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations: Mennonite Church Eastern Canada Conference

Mennonite Church Canada

Poole Mennonite Church Pastoral Leaders

Name	Years of Service	Comment
Joseph Gerber	1874-1893
Joseph U. Ropp	1873-1910
Christian L. Kuepfer	1879-1886	To Old Order Amish 1886
Andrew Kuepfer	1879-1886	To Old Order Amish 1886
Nicholas Nafziger	1891-1903	To Nafziger congregation 1903
Peter Spenler	1891-1903	To Nafziger congregation 1903
John Nafziger	1892-1903	To Nafziger congregation 1903
Peter Boshart	1903-1927
Christian Schultz	1905-1952
Christian Lichti	1940-1959
Amos Brunk	1940-1973
Herbert Schultz	1955-1970
Amsey Martin	1970-1982
Vernon Zehr (Interim)	1983
David Brubacher	1983-1990
Gerald Neufeld	1988-1992	Youth Pastor
David Rogalsky	1990-1999
Kim Wideman	1996-2000	Youth Pastor
Reynold Kipfer (Interim)	1999-2000
Paul Dyck	2000- August 2015
Kara Carter	2001-2008	Youth Pastor
Amanda Mustard	2008-2012
Sean Sero	2014-Present	Youth Pastor
Steve Brnjas	September 2015-2017	Interim Supply
Fred Redekop	March 2017-September 2017 February 2018-2019 2020-	Interim Supply Pastor of Senior Ministry Pastor
Doug Amstutz	October 2017-January 2019

Poole Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Membership
1900	105
1925	111
1935	168
1950	250
1965	278
1975	327
1985	390
1995	320
2000	296
2003	302
2008	301
2015	301
2020	311

Map

Map:Poole Mennonite Church (Milverton, Ontario, Canada)

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

Poole (Ontario) Amish Mennonite Church, established in 1874, had a membership of 270 in 1957. It is a member of the Ontario Amish Mennonite Conference.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Schultz, Brenda. "Poole Mennonite Church (Milverton, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2003. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Poole_Mennonite_Church_(Milverton,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=172293.

APA style

Schultz, Brenda. (September 2003). Poole Mennonite Church (Milverton, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Poole_Mennonite_Church_(Milverton,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=172293.

Poole Mennonite Church (Milverton, Ontario, Canada)

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