Chilliwack Mennonite Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)
The Chilliwack Mennonite Church (originally called First Mennonite Church) was formally organized in 1947. Mennonites had come into the Chilliwack area of British Columbia from the prairies in the 1940s. A congregation, initially known as the Westheimer Mennoniten Gemeinde, had been formed in 1945 but a division of opinion on many matters due to the influence of revivalism caused a split in 1947. The original group was named the East Chilliwack Mennonite Church and the new congregation was named the First Mennonite Church. The first building was occupied in 1947, with a subsequent building program in 1965. Gerhard D. Loewen is considered the founding leader of the group. In 1959 a group desiring to worship in the English language began its own services and formed the Chilliwack Mennonite Mission Church. In 1969 this congregation merged back with the First Mennonite congregation and the name was changed to Chilliwack Mennonite Church.
The congregation dissolved in 1978 due to declining membership, and differences in theology. Long standing internal struggle and deep tensions between the "charismatic" and "traditional" led to the decay of the congregation. Eventually the congregation accepted a resolution to dissolve and turn over the church property and assets to the Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia with the view to establishing a new congregation under the leadership of the conference. The building was sold to a Baptist congregation in Chilliwack.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (24 November 1961): 11; (3 August 1965): 1.
Churches in Profile. Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1978: 32-34.
Martens, Maureen. "A History of the Chilliwack Mennonite Church, 1947-1977." Unpublished Research Paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1977, 33 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Additional Information
Address: 428 Wellington Street (now 45592 Wellington Street), Chilliwack, BC
Denominational Affiliations:
Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia (1949-1978)
Conference of Mennonites in Canada (1949-1978)
General Conference Mennonite Church (1959-1978)
Chilliwack Mennonite Church Leading Ministers
| Minister |
Years |
|---|---|
| Gerhard D. Loewen | 1947-1950 |
| Gerhard I. Peters | 1950-1959 |
| Abraham B. Koop | 1961-1967 |
| Ernest Sawatzky | 1968 |
| Peter A. Unger | 1969-1972 |
| George Harms | 1972 |
| Peter Bartel | 1973-1975 |
| Anton “Tony” Buhr | 1976 |
| George Epp | 1977 |
Chilliwack Mennonite Church Membership
| Year |
Membership |
|---|---|
| 1951 |
57 |
| 1958 | 105 |
| 1965 |
65 |
| 1975 | 98 |
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Epp, Marlene and Richard D. Thiessen. "Chilliwack Mennonite Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2006. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 29 August 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C46125.html>
APA style: Epp, Marlene and Richard D. Thiessen. (June 2006). "Chilliwack Mennonite Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 29 August 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C46125.html>
