| Back | | | Name | Bloomingdale Mennonite Church |
| Address | 1151 Snyder's Flats Road
Bloomingdale, ON
N0B 1K0 |
| Phone | (519) 745-2411 |
1151 Snyder's Flats Road, Bloomingdale, ON
| Fax | (519) 745-8349 |
| Website | http://www.bloomingdalemennonite.com |
| Description | Bloomingdale Mennonite Church, a mid-sized congregation that meets for worship in a beautiful, peaceful, rural setting, came to understand its roots much better during a year of Bi-Centennial celebrations in 2006. In 1806, Yoch (Jacob) and Maria (Mary) Schneider and 8 children made the arduous journey from Pennsylvania in covered wagons, settling on the flats of the Grand River close to where Bloomingdale now stands. A baby born in December 1806 was the first white child to be born in this area. Their prized possession, a family Bible printed in Berne, Switzerland in 1560, is now in the Mennonite Archives of Ontario.
The family worked hard as all pioneers did. The First Peoples helped teach them how to survive in the forest and exchanged venison and trout for bread and milk. The family and later newcomers worshiped in the Schneider home until 1826, when Yoch donated land for the erection of the Schneider’s Meeting House, replaced by a new building in 1872 after a fire.
The compassionate congregation that now meets is a very diverse group – no longer primarily Schneider farmers and cousins. Bloomingdale is a hamlet surrounded by the cities of Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and many thriving towns such as Elmira and St. Jacobs. We gather from quite a distance – business people, factory workers, highly educated professionals, and farmers. Most of us are under 70 years old, and we cherish our few seniors! Our diversity is also evident in the number of families and individuals who become Anabaptist Christians without being born into a Mennonite family. We desire to care for one another in a way that recognizes and includes all of our gifts and all of our financial, mental, and physical challenges. Lay leadership carries much responsibility in team ministry. We enjoy many artistic gifts among us.
One of our current growing edges is to look beyond ourselves more intentionally and more visibly. A week of Christian service (helping re-build after a flood) in Conklin, New York in August 2007 united and inspired the congregation. We are thrilled to begin supporting a Voluntary Service worker in Alberta and a family serving with MCC in Cambodia. We trust that the Spirit of Christ will guide us as we extend our witness and our welcome. |
| History | See description above. |
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