Classification scheme: III-15
Title: Hawkesville Mennonite Church fonds
Dates of creation: 1949-2024
Physical description: 1.6 m of textual records
Administrative history: Hawkesville is located along the Conestogo River west of St. Jacobs. It was first settled in 1839; a plan for a town was designed in 1856. In 1868 the Presbyterians built a church in the town. In 1925, after the merger of the Presbyterian and Methodist denominations, the church became part of the United Church of Canada. The building, at 15 Martha Street, was occupied by this denomination until 1946.
The St. Jacobs Mennonite Church was considering expansion of its building in 1948, but also considered the alternative of planting a new congregation in the Hawkesville if support was available. The building was purchased for $100 from the United Church, and renovations were undertaken. Dedication services for the renovated facility and new congregation were held on January 1, 1950.
The congregation affiliated with the Mennonite Conference of Ontario in 1950, the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada in 1988 and the Conference of Mennonites in Canada in 1995.
Pastoral leaders since 1950 have included Paul Martin (1950-1962); Clifford Snider (1962-1965); Simeon Hurst (1965-1971); S. David Garber (1971-1982); Gordon Martin (Interim, 1982-1983); Gary Knarr (1983-1990); Don Penner (1990-2001), Herb & Shirley Schultz (Interim, 2001/2003), Maurice Martin (Interim, 2003), Perry Bartel (2003-2013), Erv Wiens (Interim, 2013-2015), Paul Dyck (2015- )
In 1950 there were 86 members; in 1965, 132; in 1975, 179; in 1985, 169; in 1995, 157; in 2000, 138.
The church closed in June 2024.
Custodial history: The congregation has made periodic donations to the Mennonite Archives of Ontario. Latest acquisition was made in 2024.
Scope and content: The fonds ins arranged in four series: Formal records, Informal records, Church bulletins and Newsletters
Notes: Description originally created December 1999 by Sam Steiner.
For further information see: Mabel Snyder, 25th anniversary: Hawkesville Mennonite Church (Hawkesville : The Church, 1974).
See also: Worship service tapes in Sound Recordings -- Worship Services
Related photographs are located in Hist.Mss. 10: Photographs and Slides.
File list:
Series 1: Formal records
- Members meeting minutes and annual reports, 1949-1971, 1979, 1985, 1987-1992, 1994, 2000-2015 (including church retreat minutes, 17 Apr 2010), 2019, 2022-2024
- Church Council/Administrative Committee minutes, 1959-1980, 1984-1997, 2000-Feb 2015, 2022, 2023 (includes annual reports and minutes)
- Indenture, August 22, 1949 (sale of building to Hawkesville Mennonite Church), 1960, December 1979 (oversize box)
- List of charter members, 1950 (copy)
- Pastoral reviews and transitions
Note: Includes congregational profiles, 1987, 2001, 2002 - Stewardship Committee minutes, 1965-1974, 1992, 2009, 2011
- Sunday school reorganization, 1950-1970
- Sunday school
Executive minutes, 1950-1973, 1984-1988
Financial records, 1956-1972 - Congregational directory,
1973-1979,1982-1983, 1986, 1988, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2005, [2017?] - Policies, planning and discernment, [19--], 1982, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2023
Note: Among other items, this file includes "Goals and Guidelines of the Hawkesville Mennonite Church, 1982"; Visioning process, 2003; Discernment report, 2023 - Maps and building schematics
Note: Includes layout of underground piping around church (1981); community cemetery addition - WMSC, 1951-1984, 2008-2011
- WMSC report forms to conference, 1963-1976
- Cash book - receipts and disbursements, 1949-1960
- Cash book - offerings and disbursements, 1950-1960 (oversize box)
- Cash book - receipts and disbursements, 1960-1970
- Senior Sewing Circle records
1950-1978
Cash books, 1950-1981 - Evening Star Sewing Circle secretary's book, 1956-1967
- Evening Star Sewing Circle financial records, 1956-1971
- Flowers of Faith Sewing Circle records, 1959-1974 (6 books)
- Junior Sewing Circle, 1950-1955
- Junior Girls Sewing Circle records, 1952-1956, 1964-1968
- Busy Beaver Sewing Circle records, 1956-1966 (oversize box)
- Mennonite Youth Fellowship, financial records, 1951-1959
- Sunday evening service offering records, 1951-1960
- Slate committee, 1987-1989, 1993-2002, 2005-2014
- Worship Committee minutes, 1980-1989
- Celebrations and Transitions Committee minutes, 2023-2024
- Constitution, 2023
- Membership records (oversize box)
Membership rolls, 1950-2021
Membership transfers - Marriage registers, 1951-2023 (oversize box)
- Worship attendance, 1990-2019
- Church renewal, 1997-1999
- Safe Place Policy, 2008-2011, 2013
- Strategic planning, 2010
- Sanctuary for refugee family, 2007-2008
Note: This file is restricted until 2077
Series 2: Informal records
- Misc. programs, offering schedules, wedding/funeral bulletins
- Church historian's notes, 1950-1963 (includes program from 1950 dedication service), 1965-1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 2015-2022
- Receipts related to building program, 1951-1958
- News clippings related to congregation, 1950-
- Misc. correspondence, 1973 (includes David Garber ordination), 1974, 1980, 1983, 1991-1992, 1997, 2001-2003, 2010, 2019, 2024
- Mabel Snyder, 25th anniversary, Hawkesville Mennonite Church (2 copies)
- Anniversaries, 1975 (25th), 1980 (30th), 2000 (50th), 2015 (65th), 2020 (70th)
Series 3: Church bulletins
1956 (one issue), 1960 (one issue), 1962 (one issue), 1963-2008 (not complete), 2009-2022, Jan 2024-Jun 2024
Series 4: Newsletter
Hawkesville connection, 1973-1992