Portage Avenue Church (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)
The Portage Avenue Church began services about 1930, and formally organized on 4 October 1936. In the 1920s, the only Mennonite Brethren church in Winnipeg, Manitoba was the North End Mennonite Brethren Church. This made traveling to the church difficult for the people living in the south end of Winnipeg. This group began to meet in their own part of town in a rented chapel, Maple Street Mission Church. They then rented a second story room but moved after realizing that their neighbors were spiritualists. In 1933 the group purchased a building at 344 Ross Avenue. In 1936, the congregation became independent from the North End Mennonite Brethren Church and was officially accepted into the MB Conference. It was known as the South End Mennonite Brethren Church. Peter J. Kornelsen is considered the founding leader of the group.
In 1940 the South End MB Church bought the former Wesley Methodist Church at William and Juno with a seating capacity of 1,200. In 1961 a new church was built on Portage Avenue at Raglan Road. On 13 June 1962 the church voted to change the name of the congregation to Portage Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church, and it was known by that name until September 2005, when "Mennonite Brethren" was dropped from the name.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (20 May 1960): 18; (15 September 1961): 10.
Mennonite Brethren Herald (22 June 1962): 14; (27 May 1988): 43.
Toews, John A. A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church: Pilgrims and Pioneers. Fresno, CA, 1975: 162.
50th anniversary book.
Archival Records
Records at the church.
Additional Information
Address: 1420 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3G 0W2
Phone: 204-774-4414
Web site: Portage Avenue Church
Denominational Affiliations:
Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (1936-present)
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1936-present)
General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1936-2002)
Portage Avenue Leading Minsters
Minister | Years |
---|---|
Peter J. Kornelsen | 1936-1947 |
Henry H. Janzen | 1947-1950 |
Jacob P. Neufeld | 1950-1961 |
Henry R. Baerg | 1962-1969 |
Henry H. Voth | 1970-1980 |
Frank C. Peters | 1980-1983 |
Abram J. Neufeld | 1983-1986 |
Albert Baerg | 1987-1990 |
Roland Marsch | 1991-1997 |
Cliff Janzen | 1998-1999 |
Claude Pratte | 1999-2006 |
Travis Reimer (interim) | 2007-2011 |
George Toews | 2012-2014 |
Portage Avenue Membership
Year | Members |
---|---|
1950 | 279 |
1965 | 477 |
1985 | 667 |
1995 | 483 |
2000 | 428 |
2010 | 287 |
Author(s) | Herman Neufeld |
---|---|
Marlene Epp | |
Date Published | March 2012 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neufeld, Herman and Marlene Epp. "Portage Avenue Church (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2012. Web. 21 Sep 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Portage_Avenue_Church_(Winnipeg,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=143003.
APA style
Neufeld, Herman and Marlene Epp. (March 2012). Portage Avenue Church (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 September 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Portage_Avenue_Church_(Winnipeg,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=143003.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 587. All rights reserved.
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