Graphite Bible Chapel, ON
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[edit] History
Another assembly in the area soon began in the “Fiss Settlement,” now called Graphite. On the day after his arrival at Mr. Colp’s in May 1885, Richard Irving walked ten miles to hold a Gospel meeting. The most probable location was the Fiss Settlement because of the distance mentioned, the number of German settlers living in that area and Colp’s German background. The first simple Lord’s Supper meeting, with eight persons in attendance, was held there on the afternoon of Sunday March 29, 1887, probably in the Fiss Schoolhouse or the home of Fred Fiss Sr. Mr. Irving held many Gospel meetings there over the next several years.
In October 1900, William and Albertina Bahm of the Fiss Settlement deeded land in Monteagle Township to three trustees – John Goodkey, Herman Kelusky, and Richard Irving. The Graphite Gospel Hall, ON was built shortly after this. The only known detail of the construction of the building is that John Goodkey made bricks and built the chimney. The building was used until 1976 when a new building, the Graphite Bible Chapel, ON was erected on the grounds of the Graphite Bible Camp.
The Breaking of Bread services at the Fiss Settlement were on Sunday afternoons. Mr. Irving recorded that 11 attended on one of his visits in 1917, showing almost no growth in the three intervening decades. He remarked that “Mrs. Brose keeps Sunday School going to her credit.” The movement of several of the Bahms and Fisses to other areas, as well as the migration of other families to the West, greatly reduced the number of people committed to the Graphite Gospel Hall, ON in the early years of this century.
In the early 1930s, Fred Brose invited Robert Jenkins to help with the work at Graphite where ten to fifteen children were then attending Sunday School. Through the non-winter months from 1933 to 1943, he traveled to Graphite for a morning Sunday School and returned to his home in Hybla for afternoon Sunday School classes. Sunday School attendance at Graphite increased to between forty-five and fifty.
Work among the adults continued though remaining small until the 1940s. During his second visit to the Bancroft area in 1937, John Martin was introduced to the Graphite Bible Chapel, ON and the Brose family by Simon Brownson. In about 1940, he arranged for a week of meetings at Graphite Bible Chapel, ON , and recalled a small Breaking of Bread meeting, with the Brose’s and Mr. and Mrs. Ross Olmstead as regulars.
In 1947, George Butcher Sr. and Gordon Bigelow were in the area showing a Gospel film. One of the people whom the faithful Mrs. Brose invited to the meeting at the Graphite Bible Chapel, ON was Mrs. Sam Robinson, whose son Doug was gloriously saved under the ministry of Robert Jenkins. Doug Robinson later sold his business and went into full time work for the Lord.
In 1961, when the area assemblies were reluctant to get involved, Doug Robinson formed a committee, bought land on Graphite Lake, and started Graphite Bible Camp, a fee-free day camp for children. Mr. and Mrs. Robert McLaren Sr. helped for three years at the camp and then John and Melissa Martin helped in this work through the summer of 1971. Doug’s nephews, Garry and Boyd Robinson and their spouses would later take over the responsibilities of the day-to-day operation of the Camp. The Camp has proved to be a great blessing in the area.
Leadership at Graphite Bible Chapel, ON since the earliest years includes William Boehme, Fred Brose, Ross Olmstead, Harvey Peelow, Doug Robinson, Boyd Robinson, and Garry Robinson. Mrs. Fred Brose and Mr. Robert Jenkins are especially remembered for their long and faithful work with the young people in the 1930s and 1940s. From its small numbers in the early days, Graphite Bible Chapel, ON today has about 150 in attendance at the Family Bible Hour.
[edit] Address/Contact
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Current Address, DAte Street Phone # |
Contact Address Street Phone # |
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Past Address, DAte Building Name Street |
Past Address, DAte Building Name Street |
[edit] Links
[edit] Meetings
Evening Service -
[edit] Leadership
Present Elders
Past Elders
Present Deacons
Past Deacons
[edit] Commended Workers/Ministries
Full-Time Service
[edit] Also See
Graphite Bible Chapel, ON
[edit] Author
Dan H. Smith, Ed.D. President, Emmaus Bible College
[edit] Resources
Questionnaire responses and other correspondence
The 75th Anniversary of The Windsor Assembly, 1916 to 1991
Excerpts from a History of the Brethren Movement, by Norman E. Crawford
Sketch of the History of Bethel Gospel Chapel North Bay, Ontario, 1997; based on book to be published in 1999: When Your Children Ask, by Donald E. Carney
The History of the Barrie Ontario Assemblies, by H. Bruce Hicks
Brief History of Early Assembly Work in North America, by Norman Crawford, 1999
Until He Comes, A History of the Spring St. Assembly, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 1899-1997, by Wayne and Heather Rodgers
History of the Lansing Assembly, by Hubert Lucas, Sr., 1973
Reflections of Turner Road Chapel, 1930-1990
In His Name, by John S. Robertson, March 1960 (a history of Toronto Assemblies)
A Kernel of Wheat, by Chester Donaldson, 1982, updated 1994
A Grain of Mustard Seed, The Story of Bible Fellowship Assembly, by Chester Donaldson,1983
Deer Lake Gospel Hall, by Bert French, 1997
The Growth of God’s Assembly, Planted in Welland, by Lorne Yade, 1985
Saved to Serve, by John M. Martin, Gospel Folio Press, Grand Rapids, MI 1994
Wallenstein Bible Chapel, The first thirty years, 1968-1998, by Albert Martin, 1998
Englehart, 1933-1993, 60 Years of Memories of an Assembly and its People, by P. Wood, 1993
History of Christians Gathered Unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ at Strongville, Ontario, by Mrs. William Williams and others, 1990.
A Record of Gospel Testimony in Northern Ontario, by Bethuel Carr, 1979
Graphite Bible Chapel, by Doug Robinson, undated
Waverley Gospel Hall, undated
Let The Tide Come In, by C. Ernest Tatham, 1976
Shoreacres Bible Chapel, 1959 - 1994, 35th Anniversary Reunion
When Your Children Ask, a History of Bethel Gospel Chapel North, Ontario, by Donald E. Carney, 1999; published by Donald E. Carney
The Brethren Movement in North Hastings 1885 - 1924 (A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Historical Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary), by Robert Garry Jenkins, May 1986.
History of Bancroft Area Assemblies, Garry Jenkins, unpublished, 1986.
Letters of Interest, August/September 1955, p. 14; October 1955, p. 15; January 1959, p. 7; December 1966, p. 8; June 1969, p. 14; September 1975, p. 20
