Leamington United Mennonite Church (Leamington, Ontario, Canada)
78 Oak St. E., Leamington, ON, N8H 2C6 (519) 326-6031. Pastors Darrell Fast and Anna-Lisa Salo served as congregational leaders in 2001. In 1950 there were 875 members; in 1965, 1115; in 1975, 1262; in 1985, 796; in 1995, 775; in 2000, 729. The congregation has been affiliated with the Conference of United Mennonite Churches of Ontario (1929-1988), Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1929-), General Conference Mennonite Church (1929-1999), and Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (1988-). The language of worship is English and German; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.
The congregation began services in 1925, and formally organized in 1929. The first building was occupied in 1934, with a new building program in 1984. Jacob D. Janzen and Nicolai Schmidt are considered the founding leaders of the group. The congregation originated through immigration from the Soviet Union. The congregation was initially scattered into smaller groups at Kingsville, Harrow, Windsor, Pelee Island, and Leamington until they were amalgamated in the early 1930s. The congregation was known as Essex County United Mennonite until 1958. It is the parent church to the North Leamington United Mennonite Church (1954), a division which occurred because of growing membership. The two churches were under one organization until 1981 when they became autonomous.
Bibliography
Mennonite Encyclopedia, "Essex County."
Canadian Mennonite (9 April 1954): 1.
Mennonite Reporter (2 February 1981): 4; (10 December 1984): 11.
Driedger, N. N. The Leamington United Mennonite Church: Establishment and Development, 1925-1972. Leamington, ON: The Church, 1972, 176 pp.
Memories: Sixty Years of Mennonite Life in Essex and Kent Counties, 1925-1985. Leamington, 1985, 78 pp.
Additional Information
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Epp, Marlene. "Leamington United Mennonite Church (Leamington, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 1989. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/L4276.html>
APA style: Epp, Marlene. (January 1989). "Leamington United Mennonite Church (Leamington, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/L4276.html>
