Petitcodiac Mennonite ChurchThe First Ten Years
by Brian Elliot
The first suggestion of looking to New Brunswick for land came from an advertisement in Harrowsmith magazine in March of 1977. On Easter Sunday that year, Fred Nordemann leaned over and asked Peter Bunnett if he wanted to fly to New Brunswick and investigate the possibilities. They left at 2:30 pm that same afternoon.
This was the first of several treks to the east in the spring and summer of 1977. By Christmas of that year, the Nordemanns had purchased a farm in Knightville; the Elliots had purchased a furniture refinishing business in Sussex; the Brubachers had a farm in the Havelock area and the Dettweilers were expected in January 1978.
In a letter to the Nairn congregation at Christmas we indicated that:
We are still adjusting to our new environment, that is meeting and getting to know our neighbours. We have a relationship of sorts with the local Baptist Church (Cornhill). On special occasions we worship with them. The children had their Christmas program last Sunday and next Sunday evening (Christmas), we have been invited for a special Christmas Service. Our children attend the Sunday School at the Baptist Church, while we (adults) meet at Nordemann's. We are still feeling our way as a House Church, but we are confident that as we meet in His Name, the Lord's blessing will follow.
By July of 1978 the Dettweilers and the Bunnetts had arrived in New Brunswick and on July 11 an organizational meeting was held at the Dettweilers. At that meeting we decided to seek recognition by the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference; to request our membership letters from Nairn and Breslau Churches; to ask John Brubacher to function as Pastor (which is not to say leader of all activities); and to seek our tax number from the government.
At a meeting on July 25 we continued discussion and settled on a name; Mennonite Fellowship - Sussex (since that was the secretary's address). We also discussed and set up a rotation of meeting places - one month in each home. This meeting also had as an agenda item - the children. Some were expressing a desire for their own Sunday School, rather than attending the Baptist one.
Initially, services were a combined effort with several people contributing each Sunday. That gradually shifted till the leadership was rotated through each family for one month each. Adult studies were carried out, lead by a variety of people. In addition to Sunday services, fellowship meetings were held mid week. These also rotated from home to home.
One year, to the day, after the organizational meeting for the Mennonite Fellowship, another organizational meeting was held. On July 11, 1979 at Brubachers, an interim executive was appointed to set up and operate some kind of residential service for mentally handicapped adults. By the fall of 1979, this group had expanded to include Mennonites from other parts of New Brunswick. A great deal of time and energy was spent in subsequent meetings getting OPAL INC. organized and operational. Mennonite Central Committee agreed to send us volunteers and Paul Wiebe and Chris Schmidt arrived in September, 1980 to help move the first residents into the Havelock Community Residence.
Again a year later, in July, 1980, another significant event occurred. Hubert and June Schwartzentruber spent several days with us, preaching and teaching and participating in our first baptismal service. As with many of our special occasions, Mennonite families from other parts of New Brunswick joined us and particpated in our worship and 52 people managed to gather in Bunnett's living room for our Sunday service and potluck.
July seems to have been a significant month in our development. It was in the July 15, 1981 minutes that the first expression of concern about our worship services occurred. A the decision to contact Herb Schultz (Conference Minister of the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference) about the possibility of obtaining the services of a seminary student for the summer months was made. This did not work out and discussion continued locally and in April 1982, it was decided to approach Herb again about getting a part-time pastor for our group. It should be noted that in these discussions not everyone was convinced that a pastor would solve all our problems, but everyone seemed to agree that having outside resources, even for a short period would be of benefit.
It was in April 1982, as well, that the decision was made to centralize our meeting place - partly for community outreach, partly because our size was crowding some homes and partly to make OPAL resident participation easier. We decided to try meeting at the Kiwanis Community Center and started doing so in May,1982.
Discusion continued for almost 2 years on the leadership question and finally in the summer of 1984, Stanley Shantz joined us for 3 months to teach and preach. Stanley's visits to our homes was, for most of us, the first pastoral visit since moving to New Brunswick. Before leaving, in October 1984, Stanley helped us work through (with Hubert Schwartzentruber) our expectations and goals for leadership in the future. For the first time, the emphasis shifted from preaching and teaching, centered on our group to community outreach.
During the winter of 1984-5, discussions continued regarding our leadership needs, with many letters and phone calls to the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference offices. As we looked at various people suggested by Herb Schultz and did some scouting of our own, a Maritime name was raised by several people at the same time - Siegfried and Margaret Janzen from "The Valley".
Since Brian Elliot was going to that area on other business, the congregation asked him to approach the Janzens and "sound them out". In Feb. 1985, Brian did visit the Janzens and after the preliminary visiting, tactfully broached the topic of the pastoral leadership of our congregation. The reaction was instantaneous and surprsing - laughter. After the initial shock was over, the conversation continued at length and ended with a pledge to pray about the situation and for the Janzens to visit Petitcodiac - to preach and discuss their reaction with the entire group.
Herb Schultz visited in March and the Janzens arranged to be with us the same week-end. Several long discussions took place that week-end centering on the pastor's job description and congregational goals, but no decision was reached. The congregation's desire to work by consensus rather than majority rule meant more discussion. We did agree to give the Janzens a commitment by the end of April, since Siegfried had a masonary business to wrap up before he could come.
During these discussions two other issues came to the surface and were dealt with. In May 1985, we decided to change our congregational name from 'Mennonite Fellowship - Sussex' to 'Petitcodiac Mennonite Church' to reflect more accurately our community involvement. This desire was communicated to Western Ontario Mennonite Conference and quickly agreed to. The second issue was conference membership. To be part of a more national body and to reduce the fragmented witness of Anabaptists in the Maritimes we decided to seek membership in the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, while maintaining our Western Ontario Mennonite Conference ties - joint membership in other words.
Once more this was communicated to the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference and their support quickly granted. The process of joining the Conference of Mennonites in Canada was started in June of 1985 and a year later, we were formally accepted into that conference (July 1986).
Without a firm commitment from our conference bodies for pastoral support, the congregation stepped out in faith and invited the Janzens to join us in Petitcodiac. The invitation was accepted and plans developed for an installation service to be held Sept. 29th 1985.
Siegfried had been ordained as a lay-preacher at the Kentville Baptist Church. It was quickly agreed that we did not want to "redo" that, but rather build on the foundation that the Baptists had laid. To symbolize this working together, Rev. Byron Fenwick from the Kentville Baptist Church was invited to be part of our installation service which was conducted by Herb Schultz. Many of us were moved by the laying on of hands that combined Rev. Fenwick and a representative from the Western Ontario Mennonite Mission Board (Gordon Bauman), the Petitcodiac Mennonite Church (Peter Bunnett) and Siegfried's family (Margaret and Carol Anne).
The congregational response was both an expression of thankfulness to God and a covenant with Siegfried to work with him at our common task:
Our hopes for congregational leadership are being realized today. We have prayed, worked, and hoped for this time. We thank God for direction and provision in meeting our needs. We have discerned gifts in our brother which can combine with our own in a commitment for growth and service. We accept Siegfried as God's gift to us and offer ourselves as laborers together with him and with God. We covenant to be sensitive, supportive, and trustful as we work at our common task, to be God's people in this place at this time.
Siegfried and Margaret were unable to finish their commitments in "The Valley" until November, so were unable to move until December 1st. On Christmas Eve. Day the young people and some older ones gathered to cut, split, and toss a few cords of wood into the basement on Cross St. and welcome the Janzen's to Petitcodiac. A few weeks later a poem appeared in the Mennonite Reporter -
Love is as tiny as atoms;
more persuasive than bombs.
Unseen, invisible.
Yet visible.
Like nine cords of wood in our basement.
SELFHELP Crafts was the topic of a special congregational meeting in October of 1985. The possibility of the congregation starting a Gift Shop in Petitcodiac was explored. After much consideration the congregation, although expressing support for the concept, decided that it should not be a project tied too closely to the Petitcodiac Mennonite Church . A number of people in the congregation continued to meet and in August of 1986, the first SELFHELP Crafts Gift Shop east of Ontario opened in Petitcodiac. Very quickly a variety of people in other community churches were involved in helping with the store (as well as a few people with no direct church connection).
During 1986 Siegfried was getting used to his new role and getting acquainted with his new neighbours in Petitcodiac. This process resulted in a number of community involvements and new directions for the congregation. Easter of 1986 saw the Petitcodiac Mennonite Church hold a service with considerable German content to try and meet the needs of some of our new neighbours. Occasionally a few verses in German are still heard on Sunday morning and the Degenhardt family has become a regular part of our congregation.
Siegfried's involvement with the Christian Council for Reconciliation resulted in our increased awareness of the needs of prisoners and their families. Some visitation has resulted, both going into the prison and having chaplains and ex-offenders speak to the congregation. A large number of the congregation, as well as people from other churches, visited Dorchester Penitentary to put on a performance of the Passion Play (that Siegfried wrote and directed) - the first time many of them had had this kind of exposure.
In June of 1987, the congregation began working their way through a Congregational/Pastoral/Self evaluation to see where we were, in relation to our goals and expectations at the half way point of Siegfried's term as Pastor. As with any group that is growing and changing, there were some sore spots, but on the whole the process was a possitive experience. One concrete suggestion that came from the evaluation was to select a Church Council to: "provide leadership for the witness, spiritual growth, and expansion of the church". This body was formed in Jan. 1988 and the first council is:
John Brubacher Chairperson
Irene Elliot Treasurer
Fred Nordemann Christian Education Co-ordinator
David Bunnett Youth Representative
Siegfried Janzen Pastor
Also in Jan. 1988 several people saw the importance of celebrating the upcoming 10th anniversary of the congregation, so a committee was struck to organize this celebration. Linda Bunnett agreed to chair the committee with help from Margaret Janzen, Barbara Ayres and Brian Elliot.
In March 1988, the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference amalgamate with two other conferences in Ontario to form the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada. We automaticly became members of this new body. We continue to try and decide what conference ties mean to a congregation very much on the geographic periphery of the larger body. Our conferences have continued to be supportive both financially and by sending staff to visit and help us work through our goals and dreams. Most recently, Hubert Schwartzentruber, the conference Missions Minister, was with us to help us look to the future. The dream that emerged from his visit was to see another Mennonite Church started in Southern New Brunswick - probably Saint John.
That brings us to the present, a celebration of 10 years of discussion, prayer, frustration, and joy. This document outlines some of the significant dates and activities. It does not cover everything and it may even include some distortions. Where you find the record faithful to your memory of events, express thanks to the many people who assisted by proof-reading and gently correcting. Where there are errors...blame the computer.