CANADA
Waterloo Region Record
By Greg Mercer
KITCHENER — The Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada has accused a well-known church leader and local pastor of sexual and ethical misconduct, more than two decades after his death.
Vernon Leis, killed in a head-on collision near Baden in 1994, was a pastor at churches in Kitchener, Elmira and Tavistock, and was once a senior official in the Ontario-wide Mennonite church organization.
On Aug. 30, pastors at three local churches took the unusual step of naming Leis in a statement from church leadership that revealed the allegation against him in front of congregants gathered for Sunday worship.
The move came after someone came forward with an allegation that was “compelling and credible,” the church said. Normally, a church committee’s investigation would give the pastor a chance to respond, but in this case it felt the accuser’s story was believable enough on its own to take action.
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