The "Peace Factory" toured through southwestern Ontario in winter 1997, and included a stop at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener. An interactive exhibit, Peace Factory was a cooperative project of several Mennonite groups. Its goal was to "help all Christians connect their faith in God with a life of peacemaking." It covered approximately 2000 square feet and had several different learning stations for adults and children.
Photographs of Carl Reesor and Simeon Reesor, 2nd cousins from the Markham, Ontario area at the Niagara-on-the-Lake military training camp. They were required to attend camp until their conscientious objector status was confirmed.
This file contains a sampling of the glass slides collected and used at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in the 1940s. Some of the slides were created from photographs of church activities or supplied to the church by mission organizations. Others, mostly texts of hymns, were ordered from the United Church Publishing House in Toronto and used in informal worship services. All slides in this file bear the United Church Publishing House label (not visible in scans), which would indicate that this publishing house did the work of transforming all of these photographs into slides.
Several mission and service activities supported by the congregation are highlighted. They include: 1) The Stirling Crusaders program whereby children and youth grew produce, raised livestock, collected recycling and did odd jobs to raise funds for war relief and missions projects; 2) the activities of missionaries Lillian and Cyril Forth of the Sudan Interior Mission (a non-Mennonite mission in Nigeria supported by the congregation); 3) the House of Friendship in Kitchener. These slides were used by the congregation in meetings and informal services to highlight these mission and relief activities.
Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church (Kitchener, Ontario)
Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church formed the first Canadian Mennonite peace centre lodged in a congregation in 1987. The centre was supported by the Peace and Justice Working Group, formed in the early 1980s. The group's activities included participation in public protests and actions for peace and justice, and education of the congregation around issues of peace and justice.
Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church (Kitchener, Ontario)
No information was acquired with these photographs. They may have been used for display purposes at The Mennonite Story. They appear to be taken at sites of Anabaptist and Mennonite historical interest in France, Switzerland or Germany, and North America.
