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In 1940 Thomas Martin, a former Old Order Mennonite from Erbsville, near Waterloo, Ontario, had a vision of extending God’s church in Ontario’s north. In 1936 Art and Marie Gingrich had already moved near Sudbury to begin a mission work and soon Thomas and his wife Elvina were on their way north. In 1947 they were joined by Mahlon Bast, now seen as a co-founder of the Waters Mennonite Church at Lively, on the western edge of Greater Sudbury.

        By the late 1950s the congregation had built a building but was feeling increasingly disconnected with the “Old” Mennonites who had supported them to that point. In 1956 the congregation voted to become a mission station under the Canadian General Conference, noting that the cultural and ethnic ways of the Old Mennonite Conference, in particular foot washing, dress style and the prayer veil for women, were uncomfortable for them. In 1959 the congregation formed under the General Conference Mennonite Church, though charter members came from Amish, Swiss and Russian Mennonite as well as Baptist, Plymouth Brethren, United, Lutheran and Roman Catholic backgrounds.

 

                                 . . . from an article in Canadian Mennonite, July 27 2009 celebrating our 50-year anniversary.

 

 

For that event we created a history book that tells of God's faithfulness through the people of Waters Mennonite.

 

 

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