First Mennonite Church (Vineland, Ontario, Canada)

The First Mennonite Church in Vineland, Ontario is the oldest Mennonite congregation in Canada. At one time the congregation had three places of worship: the Moyer church at the present location, the Mountain church (extinct) and the Jordan church (extinct). Services were held alternately at the three churches. First Mennonite was known as Moyer Mennonite Church until 1955.

The congregation began services about 1800, and formally organized in 1801. The first building was occupied in 1801, with subsequent building programs in 1810, 1897, 1962 and 2000. Valentine Kratz is considered the founding leader of the group. The congregation originated through immigration beginning in 1786 from Pennsylvania to "The Twenty". The congregation experienced loss of members both in the New Mennonite division and Old Order Mennonite division in the second half of the 19th century.

Samuel F. Coffman was longtime leader of the congregation from 1903 until his death in 1954. Although the congregation experienced a number of losses in the late 20th century, it experienced revival and growth when a number of "Russian Mennonite" families began to attend this church founded by some of the earliest Mennonites to come to Canada from Pennsylvania. The language of worship is English; the transition from German occurred in the 1890s.

The bicentennial of Mennonites in Canada in 1986 culminated in a celebration at First Mennonite Church with the unveiling of a Bicentennial Monument.

Bibliography

Harder, Laureen. Their Richest Inheritance : a Celebration of The First Mennonite Church, Vineland, Ontario, 1801-2001. Vineland, ON : The Church, 2001.

Mennonite Encyclopedia, "Moyer," "Vineland"

Canadian Mennonite (July 12, 1966): 10.

Mennonite Reporter (July 30, 1990): 4.

"The Mountain Church," Mennonites in Canada collection "(1780-Vineland)," MAO.

Burkholder, L. J. A brief history of the Mennonites in Ontario. 1935: 61, 43-48.

Coffman, S.F. "The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Mennonite Church at Vineland, Ontario." 12 pp. MAO.

Good, E. Reginald. "Jacob Moyer's Mennonite church records: an interpretive sketch," Mennogespräch 3 (March 1985): 1-5.

Moyer, Carson. "The Mountain Church at Campden," Mennogespräch 4 (March 1986): 1-3.

Church records at MAO.

Additional Information

Table 1: The First Mennonite Church Pastoral Leaders

Valentine Kratz	1801-1824
Jacob Moyer	1802; Bishop, 1807-1833
Jacob Moyer, Jr.	1824-1831
Daniel Hoch	1831-1849
Jacob Gross	1833; Bishop, 1834-1865
Abraham Moyer	1842-1871
Dilman Moyer	1842; Bishop, 1850-1873
Abram K. Hunsberger	1858-1889
Daniel Honsberger	1875-1914
John F. Rittenhouse	1889-1903
Samuel F. Coffman	1895; Bishop, 1903-1954
Willis Hallman	1951-1954
Wayne North	1955-1963
Milton Schwartzentruber	1964
Marvin Yoder	1965-1967
J. B. Martin (Interim)	1967-1968
Clare Wideman	1969-1975
Eric Strachan	1976-1978
Richard Leonhard	1979, 1983-1984
Stanley Shantz	1980-1982
Harold Nigh	1985-1989
Kevin Block	1991-2003
Harold Peters Fransen (Interim)	2003-2004
Carol Penner	2004-

Table 2: The First Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Membership
1900	60
1925	79
1950	71
1965	63
1975	66
1985	60
1995	56
2000	55

To cite this page:

MLA style: Steiner, Sam. "First Mennonite Church (Vineland, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2003. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 20 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F568.html>

APA style: Steiner, Sam. (September 2003). "First Mennonite Church (Vineland, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 20 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F568.html>

Sections

Personal tools