[checked revision]

Revision as of 20:17, 2 February 2017

Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church, 1949.
Creator: Henry J. Wiens (1885-1975)
Digitized by Hiebert Library. Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies.

The Church choir led by Nicholas Fehderau, announcer C. J. Rempel (left) and preacher Frank C. Peters (right) giving a weekly radio program ca. 1950.

In April 1925 the U.S.-based Mennonite Brethren periodical Zionsbote announced that Mennonite Brethren activity in Ontario would be directed by Jacob P. Friesen as leader with an elders' council made up of Jacob P. Wiens, Jacob Reimer, and Peter Goertzen. On 25 May 1925, the Molotschna Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinde was formed in the home of minister Jacob P. Wiens, then living in St. Jacobs. Eighteen persons signed the initial eight principles that formed the basis of the congregation. The minutes of the meeting described it as a joint meeting of members of the Mennonite Brethren and the Allianz. The eight principles articulated the Allianz's more flexible position in relation to baptism and participation in communion. Jacob P. Friesen was elected as leader for an indefinite term. Initially the group alternated worship services on Sunday afternoons between the St. Jacobs Mennonite Church and the Bethany Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church in Kitchener. Although the name Molotschna Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinde formally continued until 1932, the congregation was also soon identified as the Mennonite Brethren Church of Kitchener or Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church (KMB).

The church used a rented hall at 40 King Street East in Kitchener for its services from August 1925 until September 1935. It had the advantage of being on public transportation lines but the disadvantage of street noise and shared facilities with other organizations. In 1935 the congregation purchased a church on Church Street (in 2017 used by the Martin Luther Evangelical Church). At that time the Kitchener congregation had half the membership in the Ontario Mennonite Brethren conference: 144 members out of 287. The four smaller congregations were Leamington (50 members), New Hamburg (37), Hespeler (29), and Vineland (27). The New Hamburg and Hespeler Mennonite Brethren congregations closed their doors and became part of the Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church in the early 1950s.

In 1953 the congregation built a new church building on Ottawa Street in Kitchener. It became informally known as the Ottawa Street Mennonite Brethren Church. There were a number of additions and renovations to the building over the years. KMB also gave birth to several new congregations -- Waterloo Mennonite Brethren in 1960, Zion Mennonite Brethren in 1961, and Glencairn Mennonite Brethren in 1988.

Kitchener Mennonite Brethren housed the Ontario Mennonite Brethren Bible School from 1955-1964.

Around 1988 a major change in worship style also made its way to KMB with the formation of worship teams in place of the song leader and pianist format. In 2017 KMB offered a blended mix of traditional and contemporary songs to accommodate all tastes.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Sam Steiner
Date Published	February 2017

Boldt, Ed. "And the Road Goes On: Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Kitchener M.B. Church." Ontario Mennonite History 20, no. 2 (November 2002): 18-19. Available in full electronic text at http://mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Ontmennohistory20-2.pdf.

Canadian Mennonite (28 June 1966): 17.

Er fuehret: Geschichte der Ontario MB Gemeinden 1924-1957.

"History of Kitchener MB Church." May 2008 Accessed 3 May 2008. http://www.kitchenermb.com/history

Mennonite Reporter (6 June 1975): 5.

Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 49; (17 December 1993): 16.

Steiner, Samuel J. In Search of Promised Lands: a Religious History of Mennonites in Ontario. Kitchener, Ont.: Herald Press, 2015.

When Your Children Shall Ask: A History of the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 1957-1982. The Conference, 1982: 38-40.

Wiebe, Anne. "Mennonite Brethren Beginnings in Ontario 1924-1932." Ontario Mennonite History 25, no. 1 (June 2007): 1-10. Available in full electronic text at http://mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Ontmennohistory25-1.pdf.

Wiebe, Anne. "The Mennonite Brethren in Ontario: a Brief History." Mennogespräch 4, no. 1 (March 1986): 4-8. Available in full electronic text at http://mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Mennogesprach4-1.pdf.

Archival Records

Church records at Ontario Mennonite Brethren archives in St. Catharines.

Additional Information

Address: 19 Ottawa St. N., Kitchener, ON N2H 3K2

Phone: 519-745-5144

Website: Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church

Denominational Affiliations:

Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

Kitchener MB Church Leading Ministers

Minister	Years
Jacob P. Friesen	1925-1932
Henry H. Janzen	1932-1944
Henry G. Thielman	1945-1949
Frank C. Peters	1949-1954
Isaac T. Ewert (interim)	1954
Jacob J. Toews	1954-1959
William J. Schmidt	1959-1964
Isaac H. Tiessen (interim)	1964-1965
Frank C. Peters	1965-1973
Henry Dueck	1973-1974
John F. Froese	1974-1985
Ted Braun (assistant)	1979-1981
Jim Pike (assistant)	1981-1986
John Wall	1986-1989
Ron Willems (associate)	1986-1987
Ron Toews	1987-1994
Gareth Goossen (youth)	1989-1994
Bill Lehman (associate)	1990-1994
Bob Rempel (associate)	1994-1999
Allan Labun	1994-2000
Grant Gordon (interim)	2000-2002
Vidya Narimalla	2002-2016
Jonathan Freethy (associate)	2005-2006
Alex Suderman (associate)	2007-present
Mark Beach (associate)	2009-present

Kitchener MB Church Membership

Year	Membership
1925	52
1950	278
1965	396
1975	423
1985	578
1995	431
2000	427
2010	295
2015	282

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Sam. "Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2017. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kitchener_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Kitchener,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=147116.

APA style

Steiner, Sam. (February 2017). Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kitchener_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Kitchener,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=147116.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Digitized by Hiebert Library. [http://callimachus.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15008coll27/id/77/rec/103 Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies]''.]]
 [[File:Ottawa_Street_Mennonite_Brethren.jpg|350px|thumb|right|''The Church choir led by [[Fehderau, Nicholas J. (1904-1989)|Nicholas Fehderau]], announcer [[Rempel, Cornelius J. (1912-1994)|C. J. Rempel]] (left) and preacher Frank C. Peters (right) giving a weekly radio program ca. 1950.'']]
-The congregation began services in 1924, and formally organized on 25 May 1925 with Jacob P. Friesen as leader. The first building was occupied in 1935 with a subsequent building program in 1952. J. P. Friesen, [[Reimer, Jacob Wilhelm (1860-1948)|J. W. Reimer]], and J. P. Wiens are considered the founding leaders of the group. The congregation originated through immigration from the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] in the 1920s. Kitchener Mennonite Brethren was known as the Molotschna Mennoniten-Brüder-Gemeinde until 1932. Worship services were first held in St. Jacobs. The languages of worship are English and German; the transition from German occurred in the 1960s.
+In April 1925 the U.S.-based [[Mennonite Brethren Church|Mennonite Brethren]] periodical ''[[Zionsbote (Periodical)|Zionsbote]]'' announced that Mennonite Brethren activity in [[Ontario (Canada)|Ontario]] would be directed by Jacob P. Friesen as leader with an elders' council made up of Jacob P. Wiens, [[Reimer, Jacob Wilhelm (1860-1948)|Jacob Reimer]], and [[Goertz, Peter S. (1886-1948)|Peter Goertzen]]. On 25 May 1925, the Molotschna Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinde was formed in the home of minister Jacob P. Wiens, then living in St. Jacobs. Eighteen persons signed the initial eight principles that formed the basis of the congregation. The minutes of the meeting described it as a joint meeting of members of the Mennonite Brethren and the [[Allianz Gemeinden|Allianz]]. The eight principles articulated the Allianz's more flexible position in relation to baptism and participation in communion. Jacob P. Friesen was elected as leader for an indefinite term. Initially the group alternated worship services on Sunday afternoons between the [[St. Jacobs Mennonite Church (St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada)|St. Jacobs Mennonite Church]] and the [[Bethany Evangelical Missionary Church (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)|Bethany Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church]] in Kitchener. Although the name Molotschna Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinde formally continued until 1932, the congregation was also soon identified as the Mennonite Brethren Church of Kitchener or Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church (KMB).
-The church housed the [[Virgil Bible School (Virgil, Ontario, Canada)|Ontario Mennonite Brethren Bible School]] from 1955-64. Congregational leaders prior to 1955 included Jacob P. Friesen, [[Reimer, Jacob Wilhelm (1860-1948)|J. W. Reimer]], J. P. Wiens, P. Klassen, H. Konrad, [[Janzen, Henry H. (1901-1975)|Henry H. Janzen]], D. Klassen, Isaac Ewert, J. Sudermann, [[Thielman, Henry G. (1904-1985)|Henry Thielman]], [[Peters, Frank C. (1920-1987)|Frank C. Peters]] and [[Toews, Jacob John "J. J." (1914-1995)|Jacob J. Toews]].
+The church used a rented hall at 40 King Street East in Kitchener for its services from August 1925 until September 1935. It had the advantage of being on public transportation lines but the disadvantage of street noise and shared facilities with other organizations. In 1935 the congregation purchased a church on Church Street (in 2017 used by the Martin Luther Evangelical Church). At that time the Kitchener congregation had half the membership in the [[Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches|Ontario Mennonite Brethren conference]]: 144 members out of 287. The four smaller congregations were [[Leamington Mennonite Brethren Church (Leamington, Ontario, Canada)|Leamington]] (50 members), [[New Hamburg Mennonite Brethren Church (New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada)|New Hamburg]] (37), [[Hespeler Mennonite Brethren Church (Hespeler, Ontario, Canada)|Hespeler]] (29), and [[Vineland Mennonite Brethren Church (Vineland, Ontario, Canada)|Vineland]] (27). The New Hamburg and Hespeler Mennonite Brethren congregations closed their doors and became part of the Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church in the early 1950s.
+In 1953 the congregation built a new church building on Ottawa Street in Kitchener. It became informally known as the Ottawa Street Mennonite Brethren Church. There were a number of additions and renovations to the building over the years. KMB also gave birth to several new congregations -- [[Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)|Waterloo Mennonite Brethren]] in 1960, [[Zion Mennonite Brethren Church (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)|Zion Mennonite Brethren]] in 1961, and [[Glencairn Mennonite Brethren Church (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)|Glencairn Mennonite Brethren]] in 1988.
+Kitchener Mennonite Brethren housed the Ontario Mennonite Brethren Bible School from 1955-1964.
+Around 1988 a major change in worship style also made its way to KMB with the formation of worship teams in place of the song leader and pianist format. In 2017 KMB offered a blended mix of traditional and contemporary songs to accommodate all tastes.
 = Bibliography =
 Boldt, Ed. "And the Road Goes On: Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Kitchener M.B. Church." ''Ontario Mennonite History'' 20, no. 2 (November 2002): 18-19. Available in full electronic text at http://mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Ontmennohistory20-2.pdf.
@@ Line 20: / Line 26: @@
 ''Mennonite Brethren Herald'' (27 May 1988): 49; (17 December 1993): 16.
+Steiner, Samuel J. ''In Search of Promised Lands: a Religious History of Mennonites in Ontario. Kitchener, Ont.: Herald Press, 2015.
 ''When Your Children Shall Ask: A History of the Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 1957-1982''. The Conference, 1982: 38-40.
@@ Line 119: / Line 127: @@
 | 2015  ||  align="right" | 282
 |}
-{{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 3, p. 187|date=1957|a1_last=Janzen|a1_first=H. H|a2_last= |a2_first= }}
+{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=February 2017|a1_last=Steiner|a1_first=Sam|a2_last= |a2_first= }}
 [[Category:Churches]]
 [[Category:Ontario Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches Congregations]]

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