Ontario (Old Order) Mennonite Conference

The Ontario (Old Order) Mennonite Conference is a moderate Old Order Mennonite group in the Canadian province of Ontario, that was formed in 1889 as a reaction to modernizing trends among the Mennonites in Ontario. The members use horse and buggy for transportation. As of 2020, they also have a colony in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island.

Name

The Conference is sometimes referred to as Old Order Mennonite Church (e. g. Donald Kraybill) ,[1] whereas the name given above is used by the Mennonite World Conference and by Stephen Scott .[2] A popular name for the members is Woolwich Mennonites or just Woolwichers, because Abraham Weber Martin, the bishop who was the main force behind the formation of the group, resided in Woolwich, Ontario.

History

Since 1871, when six bishops in Ontario declared there should be no association with bishop Jacob Wisler of Ohio, who was dismissed because of his conservative stance, there were tensions among the Mennonites in Ontario about the question how much modern practices like Sunday School, revival meetings, English language preaching etc. should be introduced. The final break between the Old Orders and the modernizers occurred in 1889 when there were two different Conferences, because there was a conflict about the date of the conference.[3]

Belief and practice

The members use horse and buggy for transportation. Their stance on technology is quite similar to that of the Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church. The German language is used in worship services and Pennsylvania German is spoken at home and with members of the own group as well as with other Old Order groups.

Controversy

In November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, both the Region of Waterloo Public Health unit and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health issued orders to close Old Order schools and places of worship in their regions and to limit social interactions. The orders were issued because of extremely high infection rates. In Waterloo Region, the orders applied to sects "including Markham, Old Colony, and David Martin Mennonite communities", according to a news report. Both agencies cited a lack of cooperation with public health requirements that were intended to minimize the spread of the virus. In an interview with the Waterloo Region Record, bishop Peter Brubacher, ("bishop for seven Old Order Mennonite church districts" in north Waterloo Region according to another news agency),[4] made this comment, "I guess to be frank and honest, a lot of people really didn’t take it that serious, to isolate".[5][6]

Membership

In 1957 the Old Order Mennonite Conference of Ontario had a membership of 1,061, unbaptized family members not counted.[7] In 1992 there were about 2,200 adult members in 16 congregations.[8] In 2008/9 membership was about 3,200 in 36 congregations.[9]

See also

Literature
  • Donald B. Kraybill and James P. Hurd: Horse-and-buggy Mennonites: Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World. University Park, PA 2006.
  • Stephen Scott: An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups. Intercourse, PA 1996.
  • Donald Kraybill: Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites, Baltimore 2010.

References
  1. Donald B. Kraybill (2010). Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hurtterites and Mennonites. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 252.
  2. Stephen Scott (1996). An Introduction to Old Order: and Conservative Mennonite Groups. Good Books, Intercourse, PA. p. 30.
  3. Stephen Scott (1996). An Introduction to Old Order: and Conservative Mennonite Groups. Good Books, Intercourse, PA. pp. 18–20.
  4. "Old Order Mennonites, church groups find ways to adapt to COVID-19". Flamborough Review. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  5. "Public health intervenes to limit COVID-19 surge among old order Mennonites". Waterloo Region Record. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020. Infection rates in rural Mennonite areas are the highest in the region ... "Unfortunately, we have encountered insufficient co-operation among a number of individuals with public health requirements"
  6. "Critical threat to Old Order Mennonite community forced order by Public Health". Guelph Today. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020. it is in many ways, an option of last resort and it’s something we only do when we think we have a critical threat to the community’s safety and we need immediate action
  7. Old Order Mennonites at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.
  8. Stephen Scott: An Introduction to Old Order: and Conservative Mennonite Groups, page 30.
  9. Donald B. Kraybill (2010). Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites and Mennonites. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 252.


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