Mornington Amish Mennonite Church (Milverton, Ontario, Canada)
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| Mornington Amish Mennonite Church, 2004 |
The Nafziger Amish Mennonite Church is located 2 km west of Poole at 4233 Mornington Township Line 61 and Poole Rd in Mornington Township, Perth County, Ontario.
About 1903 some differences arose in the Mornington Old Order Amish Church at Poole, which resulted in some of the ministers and some of the lay members withdrawing under the leadership of Bishop Nicholas Nafziger (ordained 1896, d. 1944). In 1904 the group supporting Nafziger built a meetinghouse west of the corner at Poole. Services were held every Sunday in the German language with singing from the Ausbund. This congregation was initially not connected with any conference. They had no Sunday school and no evening meetings. It was commonly known as the Nafziger Amish Mennonite Church.
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| Cemetery Regulations for the Mornington Cemetery |
The first ministers besides Nafziger were Peter Spenler and John Albrecht. John Gerber (ord. 1909, d. 1929), from West Branch, Michigan, joined this group in 1924. Samuel Nafziger, son of Bishop Nicholas, was ordained minister in 1933. Moses Nafziger, nephew of Nicholas, was ordained minister in 1933 and bishop in 1940. Valentine Gerber (d. 1928), ordained minister in Holt County, Nebraska, late in his life was connected with this congregation. In the 1950s the leadership consisted of Moses Nafziger, bishop; Samuel Nafziger and Joseph Steckley, ministers; and Jonas Jantzi, deacon. An account of the Amish Mennonites in Canada was given in the John Baer German Almanac in 1903. Bishop Aaron J. Jantzi served in 2004 as a non-salaried congregational leader
In 1925 there were 140 members; in 1950, 160; in 1965, 143; in 1975, 54; in 1985, 53; in 1995, 45; in 2000, 27; in 2004, 22. The congregation has become affiliated with the Beachy Amish Mennonite Fellowship. The language of worship is German.
Bibliography
Mennonite Encyclopedia, "Maple View."
Yoder, Elmer S. The Beachy Amish Mennonite Fellowship Churches. Hartville, Ohio: Diakonia Ministries, 1987: 368.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 807. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
MLA style: Fretz, J. C. and Marlene Epp. "Mornington Amish Mennonite Church (Milverton, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 1986. Web. 25 May 2013. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/M6715.html.
APA style: Fretz, J. C. and Marlene Epp. (April 1986). Mornington Amish Mennonite Church (Milverton, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 May 2013, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/M6715.html.
