Classification scheme:
XIII-2-8
Title: Bethany Mennonite Church fonds
Dates of creation: 1961-2021
Physical description: 1.37 m of textual records
Administrative history: Located at the corner of Creek Rd. and East-West Line in Virgil, Ontario, the Bethany congregation is an outgrowth of the Niagara United Mennonite Church. In the early 1960s there was greater pressure in that church to use the English language. On December 1964, 143 members from the Niagara church became the charter members of the new Bethany Church.
The congregation has been affiliated with the Conference of United Mennonite Churches of Ontario (1965-1988), Conference of Mennonites in Canada /Mennonite Church Canada (1965-), General Conference Mennonite Church (1965-1999) and Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada (1988- ).
Custodial history: The congregation has made periodic donations to the Mennonite Archives of Ontario. Latest donation made in 2024.
Scope and content: There are four series: Formal records, Informal records, Church bulletins and Newsletter.
Notes: For further information see C. Alfred Friesen, Memoirs of the Virgil-Niagara Mennonites (1984), 39-42.
For photographs related to this congregation search the Mennonite Archival Image Database.
For sound recordings related to this congregation, see Hist.Mss.9.25.
Further materials related to this congregation may be found by searching the Archives.
An encyclopedia entry for this congregation may be found in GAMEO.
Original description created December 1999 by Sam Steiner.
File list:
Series 1: Formal records
- Constitutions, 1969, 1976, 1982, 1995, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2015
Note: Includes Constitutional Task Force report, 1999 - Church board minutes, 1964-1985
- Membership meeting minutes, 1964-2003
- Annual reports, 1983-1985, 1987, 1989-1994, 1996, 1998-2018
- Church directories, 1966, 1968-1981, 1983, 1985-1986, 1988, 1990-2018
- Mission and Service Committee minutes, 1976-1977
- Budget materials, 1964/65, 1976
- Education Committee, 1979
- Documents on divorce and remarriage, 1969/1970, 1981
- Space utilization policies, 1972, 1976
- Action Plan, 1988
- Renewal Task Force reports, 1989, 1995
- Congregational profiles, [19--], 1987, 1993, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016
Series 2: Informal records
- Commemorative plate that includes picture of church, n.d.
- Church growth material, 1970
- Church correspondence re: membership, 1970
- A Celebration of Faith Stories, June 2000
- News clippings
Series 3: Church bulletins
6 Feb 1966, 1973-2008, January 2009-June 2009, 2010-September 2024
Series 4: Newsletter
1967-2004