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Nov 19 – Faith, Family and Migration: The Old Colony Mennonite Experience
November 19, 2025 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
By Marie Williams
Glencoe – A crowd of over 30 was seated in the sanctuary of Glencoe Presbyterian Church Wednesday evening for a presentation led by Maria Moore, who described the complex history of the Mennonite people. Herself a Dutch-Russian Mennonite with Mexican roots, she explained that there is a stigma between Mennonite groups, something that led to the title of her first book, “Not My Kind of Mennonite.” Her great-grandparents came to Canada from Russia in 1875, the family later moving to Mexico after the First World War, part of the largest emigration from this country.
In later years, her family travelled back and forth to Canada as migrant workers, having experienced struggles adapting to life in Mexico. During their final visit to Canada, her father was murdered which left she and her siblings in the foster system. She was eventually adopted and raised in Lambton County. After researching the history of Mennonites for many years, Moore capably described the differences between the multiple Mennonite and Amish orders, concluding that understanding diversity helps avoid stereotypes. There are 59,000 Mennonites in Ontario with an Amish community growing in Wardsville. Most recently, Moore has written a new book: “The Silenced Path – Resilience, Identity, and the History of Institutional Care in Ontario.”
Copies of Not My Kind of Mennonite are available at the Glencoe library, Middlesex County system.
Her new book: “The Silenced Path – Resilience, Identity, and the history of Institutional Care in Ontario”
The Silenced Path, a powerful novel inspired by the true story of Getruda Peters—a young woman of Old Colony Mennonite heritage whose life was shaped by trauma, institutional neglect, and profound cultural dislocation in 1980s Ontario.
This book delves into the systemic issues that affected—and continue to affect—vulnerable individuals placed in care, particularly those from culturally distinct communities such as the Mennonites. Gerda’s story highlights how institutional systems often failed to understand or accommodate cultural identity, faith traditions, and language—elements essential to personal resilience and belonging.
Separated from her siblings and removed from her traditional community after the traumatic loss of her parents, Gerda is thrust into a world that neither recognizes nor respects her background. Instead of receiving the support she needs, she encounters repeated episodes of abuse, disbelief, and isolation within the very systems intended to protect her.
Yet within this story of adversity lies a testament to human strength. Gerda’s journey offers vital lessons in resilience, the quiet healing power of nature, and the importance of restoring dignity to those whose voices have been silenced.
Maria can be booked too talk about her new book which will appeal to educators, caregivers, health and social service professionals, and anyone interested in improving institutional care and cultural sensitivity. It’s also a call to reflect on how care systems can better honor and preserve faith, language, and cultural roots—particularly for those from minority or insular communities.
Maria Moore is a Canadian writer, advocate, and former registered nurse whose work explores themes of resilience, identity, generational trauma, and the search for personal empowerment. Raised in an Old Colony Mennonite community in Mexico, she later immigrated to Canada and spent over forty years working in healthcare, including mental health support. Her debut memoir, Not My Kind of Mennonite (FriesenPress, 2023), traces her family’s journey across borders and generations, shedding light on the silent struggles faced by many women and men in closed communities. Now living in southwestern Ontario with her husband and their dog, Maria continues to give back through volunteer work, board service, and public speaking that champions the voices of those too often overlooked.
https://www.notmykindofmennonite.com/