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Revision as of 14:39, 27 October 2019

The St. Agatha Mennonite Church was originally one of two meeting places for the Wilmot Amish Mennonite Church. Prior to the 1880s, as was the Amish custom, worship services were held in homes or barns every other Sunday. In 1885 the Wilmot Amish built a meetinghouse across from its cemetery just west of Baden. In 1886 a second meetinghouse was built just west of St. Agatha on land that had been part of the Nicholas Lichty farm. On occasion this place was known as Lichty's Church.

The St. Agatha building was rearranged in 1948 when the pulpit was moved to the west end and the benches turned to make a more "Protestant" layout. A furnace was also installed at the same time. More renovations took place in 1953, when the building was turned, with a basement constructed under the church and a vestibule added.

Membership and pastoral staff of the two locations of the Wilmot Church were combined until 1957 when the Steinmann Amish Mennonite Church and the St. Agatha Amish Mennonite Church began to operate as separate congregations. "Amish" was dropped from their names after the Ontario Amish Mennonite Conference changed its name to Western Ontario Mennonite Conference in 1963.

The two meetinghouses each held services on every Sunday morning beginning in 1939. The St. Agatha congregation was always smaller because it was located on the eastern edge of the traditional Wilmot Amish settlement. As a rural congregation its membership has tended to decline.

The St. Agatha congregation was the first of the rural Ontario Amish Mennonite congregations to purchase an organ; this took place in 1968.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	January 2017

Bender, Kenneth. "A History of the Wilmot Congregation." Research paper, Eastern Mennonite College, 1958.

Kennel, Lillian. History of the Wilmot Amish Mennonite congregation: Steinmann and St. Agatha Mennonite Churches, 1824-1984. Baden: Steinmann Mennonite Church, 1984, 56 pp.

Additional Information

Address: Box 5149, Baden, ON N3A 3M3; located 1 km west of St. Agatha at 1967 Erb's Road.

Phone: 519-634-8212

Denominational Affiliations: Mennonite Church Eastern Canada Conference

Mennonite Church Canada

Pastoral Leaders at St. Agatha Mennonite Church since 1957

Name	Years of Service
Peter Nafziger (1886-1969)	1938-1960
Gerald Schwartzentruber	1960-1974
Nelson Martin	1975-1985
Darrell Jantzi	1986-1990
Steve Gerber	1991-1993
Emmanuel George	1992-1993
Nelson Scheifele	1992-1993
Brent Kipfer	1994-2001
Doug Snyder	2001-2016
Len Rempel	2016-present

St. Agatha Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1965	141
1975	110
1985	113
2000	88
2015	50

Map

Map:St. Agatha Mennonite Church (St. Agatha, Ontario, Canada)

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

St. Agatha Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church) is located one-half mile west of the village of St. Agatha in Wilmot Township, Waterloo County, Ontario. The meetinghouse, seating capacity 350, was built in 1885. Services were originally held alternately in this church and the Steinmann church at Baden. Since services are now held regularly at each place the two have actually become two separate congregations except for the fact that the same ministers serve both churches. The original building at St. Agatha was also of frame structure but was completely rebuilt in 1953 with a basement.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "St. Agatha Mennonite Church (St. Agatha, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2017. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=St._Agatha_Mennonite_Church_(St._Agatha,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=165470.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (January 2017). St. Agatha Mennonite Church (St. Agatha, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=St._Agatha_Mennonite_Church_(St._Agatha,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=165470.

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-The St. Agatha Mennonite Church near St. Agatha, Ontario is part of the [[Amish Mennonites|Amish-Mennonite]] segment of the Mennonite "family." The language of worship is English; the language transition from German occurred in the 1930s. The congregation began services at the St. Agatha meetinghouse in 1885, but formally organized as a separate congregation in 1957. The congregation divided from from [[Steinmann Mennonite Church (Baden, Ontario, Canada)|Steinmann Mennonite]] Church. The two groups had shared the name Wilmot Amish Mennonite when they existed as one congregation with two places of worship. The 1885 meetinghouse was completely rebuilt in 1953 with a basement.
+The St. Agatha Mennonite Church was originally one of two meeting places for the Wilmot Amish Mennonite Church. Prior to the 1880s, as was the [[Amish]] custom, worship services were held in homes or barns every other Sunday. In 1885 the Wilmot Amish built a meetinghouse across from its cemetery just west of Baden. In 1886 a second meetinghouse was built just west of St. Agatha on land that had been part of the Nicholas Lichty farm. On occasion this place was known as Lichty's Church.
-Pastoral leaders since 1957 have included Peter Nafziger, Gerald Schwartzentruber, Nelson Martin, Darrell Jantzi, Steve Gerber, Nelson Scheifele, Emmanuel George, Brent Kipfer, Doug Snyder and Len Rempel.
+The St. Agatha building was rearranged in 1948 when the pulpit was moved to the west end and the benches turned to make a more "Protestant" layout. A furnace was also installed at the same time. More renovations took place in 1953, when the building was turned, with a basement constructed under the church and a vestibule added.
+Membership and pastoral staff of the two locations of the Wilmot Church were combined until 1957 when the [[Steinmann Mennonite Church (Baden, Ontario, Canada)|Steinmann Amish Mennonite Church]] and the St. Agatha Amish Mennonite Church began to operate as separate congregations. "Amish" was dropped from their names after the [[Ontario Amish Mennonite Conference (Mennonite Church)|Ontario Amish Mennonite Conference]] changed its name to [[Western Ontario Mennonite Conference]] in 1963.
+The two meetinghouses each held services on every Sunday morning beginning in 1939. The St. Agatha congregation was always smaller because it was located on the eastern edge of the traditional Wilmot Amish settlement. As a rural congregation its membership has tended to decline.
+The St. Agatha congregation was the first of the rural Ontario Amish Mennonite congregations to purchase an organ; this took place in 1968.
 = Bibliography =
 Bender, Kenneth. "A History of the Wilmot Congregation." Research paper, Eastern Mennonite College, 1958.
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 = Map =
 [[Map:St. Agatha Mennonite Church (St. Agatha, Ontario, Canada)]]
-{{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 4, pp. 400-401|date=July 2000|a1_last=Gingerich|a1_first=Orland|a2_last=Steiner|a2_first=Sam}}
+= Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article =
+By [[Gingerich, Orland S. (1920-2002)|Orland Gingerich]]. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from ''Mennonite Encyclopedia'', Vol. 4, p. 400-401. All rights reserved.
+St. Agatha Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church) is located one-half mile west of the village of St. Agatha in Wilmot Township, Waterloo County, Ontario. The meetinghouse, seating capacity 350, was built in 1885. Services were originally held alternately in this church and the Steinmann church at Baden. Since services are now held regularly at each place the two have actually become two separate congregations except for the fact that the same ministers serve both churches. The original building at St. Agatha was also of frame structure but was completely rebuilt in 1953 with a basement.
+{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=January 2017|a1_last=Steiner|a1_first=Samuel J|a2_last=|a2_first=}}
 [[Category:Churches]]

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