Bergen, Isaac "Ike" (1938-2023)

Isaac "Ike" Bergen (1938-2023)

Isaac "Ike" David Bergen: teacher, pastor, and administrator; born 24 September 1938 in Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was the second of five children of Isaac D. Bergen (2 January 1905, Vasilyevka, Naumenko, South Russia – 17 September 1993, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Maria (Rahn) Bergen (5 June 1907, South Russia – 26 October 1967, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). His father had four children from a previous marriage to Anna (Pauls) Bergen (1905-1934). Ike married Shirley B. Andres, daughter of John P. Andres (1898-1973) and Anna (Peters) Andres (1903-1972) on 19 July 1963 in Central Mennonite Brethren Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Two sons, Andrew and D. James, were born to Ike and Shirley. Ike died on 14 August 2023 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. His memorial service took place at King Road MB Church in Abbotsford on 1 September 2023.

Isaac grew up in rural Saskatchewan. After one year at the Mennonite Brethren (MB) Bible Institute in Clearbrook (now Abbotsford), BC, Ike completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Waterloo University in Ontario. Ike studied at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, at the California Graduate School of Theology in Glendale, and at the Denver Baptist Seminary in Colorado. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity degree at the Mennonite Brethren Bible College in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1967.

Between 1959 and 1963 Bergen taught at several elementary schools in Saskatchewan. Thereafter, he invested his life in serving his church. Early in his life, in the summer of 1952, he was baptized in the Glenbush MB Church in Saskatchewan. He was ordained to the ministry in Swift Current, Saskatchewan in 1969. He pastored three churches: Swift Current Mennonite Brethren Church (1967-1971), Dartmouth Mennonite Brethren Church in Nova Scotia (1971-1974), and Yarrow Mennonite Brethren Church (interim pastor, 2004-2005; pastoral staff, 2007-2013). In retirement, he was a lay leader in King Road Mennonite Brethren Church in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

From 1974 to 1985, Ike was on staff at Bethany Bible College in Hepburn, Saskatchewan as dean and instructor, and later as president.

In addition to pastoring and teaching, from 1985 to 1987 Ike served as the Canadian liaison for Mennonite Brethren Missions (now Multiply) and as director of Manitoba MB Home Missions. From 1987-1993 he served as the Conference Minister for the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. From 1993 to 2003, he was the Conference Minister for the BC Conference of MB Churches.

Ike also was active on various committees of the Canadian Mennonite Brethren Conference. From 2006 to 2012 he chaired the board of Mennonite Brethren Missions (now Multiply). In this capacity he represented Canadian Mennonite Brethren to the International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB).

Ike was an enthusiastic cheerleader to many of his peers, and certainly to the younger generation.

Bibliography

Bergen, Shirley Andres. "Ike Bergen." Personal e-mail (20 November 2023).

"Isaac Jacob Bergen." Obituary. Wiebe & Jeske. https://www.wiebeandjeskefh.com/obituary/isaac-bergen/.

Author(s)	David Giesbrecht
Date Published	December 2023

Cite This Article

MLA style

Giesbrecht, David. "Bergen, Isaac "Ike" (1938-2023)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bergen,_Isaac_%22Ike%22_(1938-2023)&oldid=178004.

APA style

Giesbrecht, David. (December 2023). Bergen, Isaac "Ike" (1938-2023). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bergen,_Isaac_%22Ike%22_(1938-2023)&oldid=178004.

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