Our ancestors began the long journey from Lorraine and Alsace of the Swiss-German people “Amish” Mennonites in the 1820’s. As immigrants they were following their desire to settle in a land that offered freedom to worship the God of their faith, desiring to live in peace with all people.
Those who came to South Easthope Township in Perth County and East Zorra Township in Oxford County began services and formally organized in 1837. Worship services were held in homes until the first meeting house was built in 1883 with subsequent building projects in 1925, 1951 and 1997.
Worship services were held every other Sunday with Sunday School beginning in 1903 and meeting on the alternate Sunday. The purpose of Sunday School when it began in 1903 was to teach the younger generation the ABC’s of the German language used in preaching.
In 1933 Worship services and Sunday school began meeting every Sunday with the purpose of Sunday School shifting to a greater focus on Bible instruction. The language used for worship also changed at this time from German to English. As the numbers grew and the meetinghouse overflowed, sister congregation were added. Cassel Mennonite began in 1935, Tavistock Mennonite in 1942 and Hillcrest Mennonite in 1964. In 2012 we celebrated 175 years of ministry in this community. We continue to give thanks for the faithfulness of God in the life of our congregation. We are grateful for the many original families who through the generations have continued to call East Zorra their home. We have also been grateful for the many community people we have welcomed into our church family.
Today East Zorra is a growing, vibrant, active, inter-generational group of people who are seeking to learn together what it means to be Rooted in Christ, to Grow Together in Faith and to Extend God’s Love! We desire to extend God’s love to each other, to our neighbours and to all the world. We believe that Jesus shows us best what God is like and what it means to love God’s way. We are committed to walking together and learning together how we most faithfully follow Jesus.
This journey of discovery is life-long and we desire to walk together in a way that fills our lives with much joy and laughter even as we struggle and cry together in the difficult times of our lives. We are grateful that God’s spirit is with us to empower us for this journey. We believe that our whole life is meant to be lived for God as an act of worship to God in service to the world that God loves. We welcome you to come and join us on this journey as we follow Jesus. We welcome you to come and worship with us!
