Riverdale Mennonite Church (Millbank, Ontario, Canada)
The Riverdale Mennonite congregation at Millbank, Ontario, formerly known as Riverdale Amish Mennonite Church, began as a mission in a former Presbyterian church, purchased in 1946 by the Mission Board of the Ontario Amish Mennonite Conference. A number of Mennonite families from surrounding congregations, including Poole Mennonite Church and Maple View Mennonite, began to worship in the church. Menno Zehr and Valentine Nafziger were superintendents of the mission. Preaching services were supplied by neighboring congregations. In January 1948 Menno Zehr was ordained minister, and in June 1948 a congregation was organized with about 60 charter members, which bought the meetinghouse from the mission board.
The founding bishop, Valentine Nafziger, withdrew with 23 members in 1956 to form Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church.
Because of dwindling attendance and internal conflict, the congregation voted to close it doors the end of August 2017.
Bibliography
A History of Riverdale Mennonite Church, 1946-1996. Millbank, ON: The Church, 1996, 67 pp.
Mennonite Reporter (29 July 1991): 11.
Rogalsky, Dave. "Tears shed over the closing of Riverdale Mennonite." Canadian Mennonite 21, no. 18 (25 September 2017): 15.
Watson, Troy. "I'll melt with you." Canadian Mennonite 23 August 2017. Web. 1 September 2017. http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/i%E2%80%99ll-melt-you.
Archival Records
Records at Mennonite Archives of Ontario.
Additional Information
Address: 4138 Perth Line 72, Millbank, Ontario (Box 195, Millbank ON N0K 1L0)
Denominational Affiliations:
Mennonite Church (MC) (1959-1999)
Western Ontario Mennonite Conference (1947-1988)
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (1988-Present
Mennonite Church Canada (1995-Present)
Riverdale Mennonite Church Pastoral Leaders
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Sam Erb | 1946-1948 |
| Menno Zehr | 1948-1983 |
| Valentine Nafziger | 1951-1956 |
| David Jantzi | 1958-1982 |
| Glenn Zehr | 1982-2000 |
| Darrell Jantzi (Interim) |
2000-2001 |
| Clive Ollies | 2001-2006 |
| Sue C. Steiner (Interim) |
September 2006 June 2007 |
| Jim Brown | August 2007-April 2015 |
| Doug Amstutz, (Intentional Interim) |
June 2015-August 2017 |
Riverdale Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 86 |
| 1965 | 162 |
| 1975 | 192 |
| 1985 | 207 |
| 1995 | 235 |
| 2000 | 234 |
| 2010 | 168 |
| 2015 | 168 |
Map
Map:Riverdale Mennonite Church (Millbank, Ontario, Canada)
| Author(s) | Orland Gingerich |
|---|---|
| Valentine Nafziger | |
| Marlene Epp | |
| Sam Steiner | |
| Date Published | September 2017 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Gingerich, Orland, Valentine Nafziger, Marlene Epp and Sam Steiner. "Riverdale Mennonite Church (Millbank, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2017. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Riverdale_Mennonite_Church_(Millbank,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=166766.
APA style
Gingerich, Orland, Valentine Nafziger, Marlene Epp and Sam Steiner. (September 2017). Riverdale Mennonite Church (Millbank, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Riverdale_Mennonite_Church_(Millbank,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=166766.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 345. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.