Montrose Mennonite Meetinghouse (West Montrose, Ontario, Canada)
In 1950 the Markham-Waterloo Mennonite Conference group built its first meetinghouse about two kilometers north of West Montrose, Ontario at 6101 Middlebrook Rd. It previously had always shared meetinghouses with the Old Order Mennonites. This meetinghouse deviated from the traditional Old Order amphitheater seating arrangement in which the pulpit was midway along the long wall of the building. Rather the interior resembled Mennonite Conference of Ontario churches that had the pulpit at the gable-end of the building facing pews rather than benches.
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| Montrose Mennonite Meetinghouse |
When the Goshen Meetinghouse was built five years later it returned to the customary Old Order amphitheater style, and Markham meetinghouses have since been constructed in this Old Order style. Markham meetinghouses remained distinctive in providing lobbies for both men and women; Old Order meetinghouses have lobbies only for the women.
The reasons for the unique seating arrangement at the Montrose Meetinghouse are not clear. Several views have emerged -- one suggested the availability of some used pews at the time of construction; these were installed in the "cathedral" style of the conference churches. Another view has proposed that when the Markham Mennonites separated from the Old Order, some members wanted to express points of difference from the Old Order. However over the subsequent years the desire to maintain similarities to the Old Order prevailed.
The Montrose meetinghouse was constructed by the Markham-Waterloo conference because of increasing population in the area. In 1978 the meetinghouse was enlarged.
On 16 April 1978 Minister George Brubacher from the Elmira congregation suddenly passed away while preaching at the Montrose meetinghouse. Silence filled the meetinghouse as he was carried outside and Minister Noah Martin arose to proceed with the service.
The language of worship was in English and German, but by 2000 was entirely in English.
Bibliography
Frey, Aden. "The Markham-Waterloo Conference of Ontario." Research paper, Conrad Grebel College, 1972, Mennonites in Canada collection, "70-Markham-Waterloo." Mennonite Archives of Ontario
Hiebert, Esther. "History of the Markham-Waterloo Conference." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1980, 62 pp.
Additional Information
Table 1: Montrose Mennonite Meetinghouse Pastoral Leaders
| Noah Martin (1920-1990) | 1950-1990 |
| Amsey Martin (Bishop) | 1950-1985 |
| Levi Martin (1916-2001) (Deacon) | 1953-2001 |
| Jacob Weber (1917- ) | 1962- |
| Orvie Brubacher (Bishop) | 1979-1986 |
| Ernie Wideman (Bishop) | 1986- |
| Elverne Martin (1955- ) | 1993- |
| Elmer Martin (1944- )(Deacon) | 1995- |
Table 2: Montrose Mennonite Meetinghouse Membership
| Year | Membership |
| 1975 |
129 |
| 2003 |
137 |
©1996-2009 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
MLA style: Epp, Marlene. "Montrose Mennonite Meetinghouse (West Montrose, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 1986. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 04 July 2009 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/M6587.html>
APA style: Epp, Marlene. (April 1986). "Montrose Mennonite Meetinghouse (West Montrose, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 04 July 2009 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/M6587.html>
