Classification scheme:
V-13
Title: Nairn Mennonite Church fonds
Dates of creation: 1949-
Note: Further accruals are expected
Physical description: 26 cm of textual records
Administrative history: In the winter of 1947-48, several families from the Wellesley, Wilmot and East Zorra area with roots in the Amish-Mennonite Conference bought farms in the Ailsa Craig area with the goal of establishing a mission church. They purchased a Presbyterian church in Nairn with the assistance of the Conference Mission Board, and began worshipping there in 1948. Services were provided by the Mission Board until Wilfred Schlegel was ordained as the first minister on 6 Mar 1949.
The church has been intensely community-minded, sponsoring such projects as the Craigholme rest home, Goodwill Rescue Mission (see IV-3/6), Ailsa Craig Boys' Farm (Craigwood), Bethel Chapel in Parkhill, and the Mission Farm.
Custodial history: unknown
Scope and content: The records are arranged in four series: formal records, informal records (including anniversary celebrations and historical recollections), a newsletter and bulletins.
Notes: Any photographs related to this congregation will be housed in Hist.Mss.10 - Photograph database.
See also: Audio tapes related to this congregation are listed in Sound Recordings -- Worship Services
For a history of the congregation, see A time of change : celebrating the 25th anniversary of Nairn Mennonite Church / by Ruth Arnel. --Nairn, Ont. : the Church, 1973. A copy is available in the CGUC library.
File list:
Series 1: Formal records
- Annual meeting
1949-1963
1972
1980 - Legal documents
Mortgage, 28 Sept 1966
Assignment of lease, Oct 1966
Discharge of mortgage, 31 Mar 1971
Agreement of purchase and sale, 14 Apr 1973 - Church council minutes
1969-1970
1970-1971 - Women's Missionary and Service Auxillary minutes
1952-1956
1958-1963
1963-1971 - Profile of Nairn Mennonite Church
1984 - Memo of Understanding with MCEC Mission & Service Commission
1998
Series 2: Informal records
-
25th anniversary celebration
"Looking at Nairn Church" / by Ruth Arnel, [1972?]
"Nairn Mennonite Church : a twenty-five year evaluation", 1 Feb 1974
Programs, 22,23,24 Jun 1973; 8,9,10 Jun 1973 - Historical reminiscences
Meditation / by Ruth Martin, 9 June 1990
"Early settlement memories" / by Lorne Bender, 7 May 1990 - A Time of Change: Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Nairn Mennonite Church by Ruth Arnel, 1973.
Series 3: Newsletter
- Mennair news
12 Jun 1988 : 40th anniversary special edition
Series 4: Bulletins
- Special bulletins
27 Jun 1948 : Programme of the re-dedication
13 Aug 1978 : Wilfred Schlegel memorial service
12 Jun 1988 : 40th anniversary service
20 Sep 1998 : Installation of Dennis Watts - Weekly bulletins
1971-1978, 27 Jun 1993, Sept 1999-Oct 2014