The original congregation was formed by immigrants from Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) who immigrated to Canada in the mid-1920s to escape religious, political and economic persecution. They settled mostly in the western provinces with the promise of farmland and job opportunities. The people who founded NUMC were searching for better economic circumstances in the mid-1930s during the Great Depression. The Depression had a devastating effect on the prairies which also suffered a terrible drought, and there were high rates of unemployment. Mennonites came to the Niagara-on-the-Lake area from Western Canada, but also from Kitchener-Waterloo and Vineland. The early church members met in people’s homes but as the congregation grew a building was erected in 1938.
The migration of Mennonites to Niagara from within Canada continued in the 1940s, and after the Second World War Canada also saw increased immigration from Europe and South America. Those who settled in Niagara were looking for a church family, and the congregation grew rapidly, requiring a new larger church which was built in 1949.
In the decades that followed, services and social gatherings were conducted in the German language. As younger people in the congregation became more assimilated into Canadian society, English became the dominant language and the worship service changed from being entirely in German, to being bilingual with a sermon in both languages. At some point many of the founding families were speaking only English, (more recent immigrants were still speaking a lot of German) and there developed a desire to start an English language only church. People wanted a church community that was more accessible and welcoming to the greater Niagara-on-the-Lake community. In 1965, Bethany Mennonite Church was established as our sister church with an English language only ministry. Starting in the early 1980s, NUMC realizing that many members could not understand German, changed their Sunday mornings to consist of 2 worship services, one completely in English and one entirely in German. For many years the high holidays like Christmas Day, Easter Sunday, reverted back to a joint English/German Worship Service format in order that the entire congregation could celebrate these special events in the Christian calendar together. The German speaking component of the congregation steadily declined until the German Service concluded in December 2023.
Historic Moments from the Life of our Congregation
Just like any congregation our church changed, grew, and adapted throughout our history. This was often due to changes within our congregation but also external factors and changes in demographics.
Prior to the 1950s, church administration at NUMC was handled entirely by men. After World War Two, many single and widowed women immigrated to Canada. Their husbands, brothers, and other male relatives had been persecuted and died in the USSR, or they had died as casualties of the Second World War. The realization that that widows were not adequately represented in church governance lead to women “receiving the right to vote” as church members, and being further recognized for their contributions to the church.
Immigration in the post-war period also amalgamated two differing church cultures. The German Mennonites from the Danzig area joined our congregation, which until that point had been mostly from Ukraine. Though, they had a common heritage, it had been 150 years since the two groups of Mennonites had worshiped together. The amalgamation was successful, but it required significant effort by the church leadership.
In 1980s the congregation dealt with the issue of divorce and remarriage, which was becoming a more common occurrence in society. This was a difficult issue to navigate but it gave us insight on how to deal with similar matters in the future.
The Anabaptist movement contains many forms of adult believer’s baptism, including by sprinkling, pouring and immersion. In the late 20th century, a number of NUMC members married spouses from other Christian faith backgrounds. In many cases other denominations practice infant baptism and then confirmation as adults. Church leadership was required to discern how these different practices fit with our belief in baptism upon confession of faith. We grew to recognize that a life of faith regardless of denomination, did not require a second baptism. This gave rise to greater acceptance of the faith practices of our brothers and sisters in Christ from other denominations.
NUMC is a part of the wider Anabaptist movement, which includes Amish, Brethren in Christ/Being in Christ, Mennonite Brethren, and Hutterites, to name a few. Globally we are a part of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC). We are grateful that through the efforts of MWC, divisions between Anabaptist movement and other protestant denominations which date back the mid-1500s, have been addressed over the past 20 years. This has led to reconciliation with the Lutheran, World Communion of Reformed Churches, and the Roman Catholic Church.