Perth East Amish and Mennonites
This brief article has been written in celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Amish Mennonites in the Province of Ontario, and the 150th Anniversary of the same in Perth East (Perth County), in 2024.
As of 2024, there are 11 distinct Amish and Mennonite groups in the Township of Perth East in Perth County, Ontario.
1) Old Order Amish; This is the largest and oldest Amish community in Canada, with over 1,200 people in some 12 congregations (church districts). The Township of Perth East (Milverton-Millbank) is considered the centre of "Amish Country" in the province of Ontario. Amish Mennonites came from Europe and settled in Wilmot Township 200 years ago in 1824. They expanded into Mornington Township (now Perth East) 150 years ago in 1874. In 1886 the more traditional Amish Mennonites became known as Old Order Amish.
2) Beachy Amish Mennonites; Fairhaven Amish Mennonite Church was established 50 years ago in 1974. In 1903, conservative members of the Mornington Amish Mennonite congregation (est. 1874), including the Bishop Nicholas Nafziger, divided from the Mornington (now Poole) church over issues of Sunday schools and worship. The conservative group began a new congregation just west of Poole, also named Mornington Amish Mennonite Church, commonly called the "Nafziger Church". This group eventually affiliated with the Beachy Amish Mennonites, which were established in Pennsylvania in 1927. Evangelical Protestant beliefs caused division in the Mornington congregation, which continued the original (Old Beachy) values. Minister Melvin Roes of the Mornington church became Bishop of the new Fairhaven Amish Mennonite Church when it was established in 1974, and they built a meetinghouse east of the Mornington church.
3) Milverton Amish Mennonites; More similar to the Old Order Amish than the Beachy Amish, the Milverton Amish Mennonites believe in strict separation from the world. Amish plain clothes are necessary, bikes and buses are used instead of vehicles, and the Bible and the Dordrecht Confession are the standards of belief. Telephones and electricity are permitted in homes, as well as phones, computers and Internet for business.
4) Old Order Mennonites; The Klearview Old Order Mennonite Meetinghouse in Perth East was built in 1990. Old Order Mennonites originated in 1889, as a division from the Mennonite Conference of Ontario (now Mennonite Church Eastern Canada).
5) Independent Old Order Mennonite Church; Formerly known as the David Martin Mennonite Church, and still nicknamed "Daves", the Independent Old Orders expanded into Perth East some years ago, but have yet to build a meetinghouse in the township. The group originated as a division from the Old Order Mennonites, at the Peel meetinghouse, in 1917.
6) Markham-Waterloo Mennonite Conference; Nicknamed "Markhams", this conference began as a division in the Markham, Ontario Old Order Mennonite settlement in 1931. When several Old Order Mennonites in Waterloo County also embraced cars and telephones, they joined with the Markham Old Orders to become the Markham-Waterloo Mennonite Conference in 1939. Their Fair Haven meetinghouse is located north of Millbank.
7) Conservative Mennonites; The Brookside Conservative Mennonite Church in Carthage was established in 1974. It is a congregation of the Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario (CMCO), which originated as a division from the Mennonite Conference of Ontario in 1960. This new movement wished to continue the fundamentalist emphasis of the Mennonite Church of the 1920s, as expressed in their 1921 Statement of Faith. From their beginning, Conservative Mennonites developed along two streams, traditional and progressive. These two streams by the mid-1970s eventually parted ways as so many Mennonite groups do. The more progressive group became part of the Midwest Mennonite Fellowship. The Bethel Conservative Mennonite Church in Millbank, formerly affiliated with the Midwest Fellowship, is now a CMCO church. The Midwest Fellowship presently has a new congregation in Millbank with the name of Shalom Mennonite Church.
8) Church of God in Christ (Mennonite); Nicknamed 'Holdeman Mennonites' after their founder, the Sunrise Church of God in Christ was organized in 1992, and eventually built its present meetinghouse in Hesson in the year 2000.
9) Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC); A part of Mennonite Church-Canada, MCEC was the result of Mennonite conference mergers in 1988. Poole Mennonite Church has been in the hamlet of Poole since Amish Mennonites expanded into Mornington Township (now Perth East) from Wellesley Township 150 years ago in 1874. The Mornington congregation built a meetinghouse in 1886, which caused a division between progressive and traditional Amish Mennonites, the latter becoming the genesis of the Milverton Old Order Amish. The Mornington Amish Mennonite Church eventually changed their congregation's name to Poole, and they became one of the original members of the 'Ontario Amish Mennonite Conference', established in 1925. This conference changed its name to the 'Western Ontario Mennonite Conference' in 1963, discarding the 'Amish' name. As Poole Mennonite Church, the congregation is now a part of the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, established in 2001.
10) Old Colony Mennonites; The Old Colony Mennonite Church in Carthage is a fairly recent addition to Perth East, with several members of their congregation living in nearby Milverton. Old Colony Mennonites from Mexico began migrating to Ontario in the 1950s, first settling in Aylmer. The Old Colony Mennonites are named after the Chortitza Mennonite 'Old Colony' in the Ukraine, established in 1789.
11) Kleine Gemeinde; A more recent addition to the Perth East landscape, the Kleine Gemeinde purchased the former Morningview Amish Mennonite Church building, after they closed in 2023, near Newton, keeping the church name. The Kleine Gemeinde originated in the Ukraine in 1812. The new congregation in Perth East is related to Kleine Gemeinde congregations in Belize and Nova Scotia.
