Dunnville United Mennonite Church (Dunnville, ON)

Title: Dunnville United Mennonite Church fonds

Dates of creation: 1949-2000

Physical description: 13 cm of textual records

Administrative history: The church is located on Lot 8, Concession 2, on Hwy. 3 east of Dunnville. The congregation was affiliated with the Conference of United Mennonite Churches in Ontario in 1950, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada in 1949, the General Conference Mennonite Church in 1956, and the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada in 1988. Thus Dunnville United Mennonite was part of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada segment of the Mennonite world. The language of worship is English; language transition from German occurred in the 1960s.

The congregation began services in 1947, and formally organized in 1949. The first building was occupied in 1952. Jacob Penner is considered the founding leader of the group. The congregation originated through local settlement of Russian Mennonites from the Leamington, Reesor, Vineland, and Niagara regions of Ontario. The decline in membership after 1950 was due to young people moving away to find jobs. The congregation closed its doors in 1999 due to this decline.

Custodial history: Files 1-2 were donated at an unknown time. The remaining files were donated in 2020 and received from Lori Schmidt-Golding of Dunnville.

Scope and Content: The fonds consists of formal congregational records

Notes:
An encyclopedia entry for this congregation may be found in GAMEO
Original archival description created March 2004 by Sam Steiner and updated 2020 by Laureen Harder-Gissing.

File list:

1. Letters Patent, 30 March 1949
2. Indenture of sale from Milton & Martha Anderson to Dunnville United Mennonite Church, 15 September 1951
3. Constitutions, [1949?], 1967
4. Membership register
5. Marriage register, 149-1999
6. Congregational and Church Council meetings, 1948-1990, 1999-2000
   Note: Includes some correspondence and reports, and documents related to the closure of the building
7. Annual reports, 1958-1986 (incomplete)
8. Annual corporation returns, 1959-1973
9. Ontario Women in Mission (Dunnville group), 1976-1993
10. Closing service, 27 Jun 1999