Elmira Mennonite Meetinghouse (Old Order)(Elmira, Ontario, Canada)
The Elmira Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse is located on Church Street West in Elmira (part lot 104 of the German Company Tract), in Woolwich Township, in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario.
The meetinghouse, 10.7 x 12.2 metres (35' x 40'), was built in 1854, when 0.8 hectares (2 acres) of land was purchased for 5 shillings. At that time, the congregation was known as West Woolwich. Peter Martin was ordained in 1854 as the congregation's first minister. David Good from the Martins congregation served as deacon when the meetinghouse was first built, and then Moses W. Martin was ordained as deacon in 1867.
In 1888, the frame building was extended 3.7 metres (12'), and in 1908 another 5.5 metres (18') was added so that the building comfortably seated 450 adults. A completely new building, 14.6 x 23.2 metres (48' x 76'), was constructed in 1976. Around this time (1975), the name of the meetinghouse was changed from West Woolwich to Elmira in the Old Order Mennonite Church calendar. The meetinghouse has been shared with a Markham Mennonite group since 1939, when the Markham and Old Order groups divided from each other.
The cemetery has also been expanded over the years. In 1962, it was extended by 0.4 hectares (1 acre). In 1989, another 1.1 hectares (2.71 acres) of land was purchased to expand the parking lot and the cemetery before the town of Elmira developed the land. The Elmira Old Order congregation shares the cemetery with three other Mennonite churches: the Markham Mennonite group, the Elmira Mennonite Church and the Zion Mennonite Church. Cemetery maintenance is shared among the four congregations.
World War I touched this Elmira congregation as it did the rest of Canadian society. In 1918, 84 boys and 27 girls applied for church baptism, making up an unusually large baptismal class. One day, a military officer came to the meetinghouse to investigate the class. The young men were called outside and the officer asked them for their exemption papers. He left when he was satisfied that the young Mennonite men were not trying to avoid conscription.
In 2003 there were approximately 78 families in the Elmira church district. No accurate count of members is available for most of the history of the congregation because Old Order Mennonites think of themselves as members of the church at large and not just the immediate congregation. The Old Order also do not see the quantity of members as indicative of the congregation's importance. When people move from one geographical area to another, they automatically “belong to” the congregation whose meetinghouse is closest to their home. No membership transfer takes place from the former location.
In 2019 plans were made to build a new meetinghouse for the Elmira Old Order congregation located north of Elmira, and a greater distance from the traffic in town.
Bibliography
Mennonite Reporter (23 June 1975): 1.
Weber, Urias. New beginnings: a history of the Old Order Mennonites of Ontario. Wallenstein, Ont.: Vineyard Publications, 2018: 69-71.
Information from the church.
Additional Information
Table 1: Elmira Old Order Meetinghouse Ordained Leaders*
| Ministers | Years | Deacons | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Martin | 1854-1890 | Moses W. Martin | 1867-1887 |
| David B. Martin1 | 1890-1917 | David E. Cressman4 | 1891-1926 |
| Amos Gingrich | 1901-1923 | Aaron M. Brubacher | 1925-1954 |
| Jesse Bauman2 | 1923-1939 | Clarence B. Martin5 | 1954-1966 |
| Edward G. Martin | 1940-19693 | Owen M. Martin | 1966-1998 |
| Daniel R. Martin | 1970-2009 | Joseph M. Martin | 1994- |
| Urias W. Martin | 2000- |
- Unless otherwise noted, the dates of service span date of ordination to date of death.
1David B. Martin transferred to the Peel Old Order Mennonite congregation when that meetinghouse was built in 1901.
2Jesse Bauman was ordained to the office of Bishop in 1933, in which he served until 1939 when he accompanied the Markham group that left the Old Order Mennonites.
3Edward G. Martin served as minister until 1969, and he came back as a member in 1980.
4David Cressman was ordained in 1872 for the Biehn church and then moved to West Woowich and become part of the Old Order Mennonites.
5Clarence B. Martin was ordained transferred to Winterbourne in 1966.
Table 2: Elmira Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse Membership
| Year | Membership (counted as households) |
| 1925 | 92 |
| 1995 | 82 |
| 2003 | 78 |
| Author(s) | Anita Streicher |
|---|---|
| Date Published | September 2019 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Streicher, Anita. "Elmira Mennonite Meetinghouse (Old Order)(Elmira, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2019. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Elmira_Mennonite_Meetinghouse_(Old_Order)(Elmira,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=164658.
APA style
Streicher, Anita. (September 2019). Elmira Mennonite Meetinghouse (Old Order)(Elmira, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Elmira_Mennonite_Meetinghouse_(Old_Order)(Elmira,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=164658.
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