An Insider's Guide to Waterloo Region

Here is the link to the history tab on the church website.

This interesting Christian Science church is located at 64 Water Street North, Kitchener. Here is information on the building from their website.

“First Church of Christ, Scientist, Kitchener is one of the oldest Christian Science churches in Ontario. Students of Christian Science began meeting in our community in 1893; by 1896, the congregation had grown quickly and met in several different locations, including the Judge’s Chambers in the County Court House.

The cornerstone of our beautiful church, cut from granite quarried near Concord, New Hampshire, was laid at Francis and Water streets in 1899. By 1900 the church was dedicated as the first church built as a Christian Science church outside of the United States. Joseph Taft of New York was the architect, and his design is an eclectic reflection of the local German and British populations and the American culture of the architect.

The church foundation is 10-feet-high and formed of uncoarsed granite held together without mortar. The second story of the church is large pink stucco panels framed with wood timbers. The church has a large round turret close to the Water and Francis street intersection. The roof is ridged gable and is shingled in cedar.

The church interior has many interesting features, among them beautiful black ash wainscoting that reflects the quality woodworking for which our region is renowned. The sanctuary is lit by large leaded turquoise windows and a large semi-circular sunburst window is located in the balcony. The beautiful Casavant organ was installed in 1911.”

St. Clements ON

Click on the photo for a map of this community.

Many Old Order Colony Mennonites left western Canada early in the 20th century to settle in Mexico. Today a few thousand of them live in Mexico’s northern states, particularly Chihuahua and Durango. Some have returned to Southern Ontario including Waterloo Region and this congregation meets in the hamlet of Crosshill, Wellesley Township. (map) You can read more about Old Colony Mennonites at the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) website.