Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
West Abbotsford Mennonite Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia)
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Level Ground Mennonite Church
- United Mennonite Church of Abbotsford
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1950-2008
History
Soon after its formal organization in 1936, this congregation was named the Abbotsford United Mennonite Church. In 1950, the church changed its name to West Abbotsford Mennonite Church. To relieve their growing attendance, Peardonville Mennonite Church (1952) and Clearbrook Mennonite Church (1953) were established as daughter congregations, both of which later secured their own autonomy. The congregation was also involved with the Prairie Chapel outreach.
The language of worship was initially German. Gradually English was introduced in the late 1950s. A group that wanted to maintain the German language durin worship led to the establishment of Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church in 1963.
West Abbotsford Mennonite Church struggled with its affiliations with Mennonite conferences. They left the BC Conference of Mennonites in 1953 but rejoined in 1957. In 2006 they became an Area Conference Only Member and left Mennonite Church Canada.
In 2007 discussions began with Wellspring Christian Fellowship about a possible merger, and in the end the membership of both West Abbotsford and Wellspring congregations voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a new congregation. The new congregation had a chartering service in January 2009 and chose the name Level Ground Mennonite Church.
(See GAMEO for names of leaders and for membership numbers.)
Places
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Related entity
Identifier of the related entity
Category of the relationship
Type of relationship
is the predecessor of
West Abbotsford Mennonite Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia)
Dates of the relationship
Description of relationship
Related entity
Identifier of the related entity
Category of the relationship
Type of relationship
is the successor of
West Abbotsford Mennonite Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia)
Dates of the relationship
Description of relationship
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
History added with MHA fonds June 2020 by AHR..
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Tilitzky, Cornelius G., Richard D. Thiessen and Alvin Ens. "West Abbotsford Mennonite Church (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2012. Web. 28 Jan 2018.