Fields of Hope Mennonite Church (Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)
The Hoffnungsfelder Rabbit Lake congregation began services in 1926, and formally organized in 1928. The first building was occupied in 1929. P. H. Plenert is considered the founding leader of the group. The congregation originated through immigration from the Soviet Union.
The group was known as Rabbit Lake Mennonite Church until 1935 when the name was changed to Hoffnungsfelder Mennonite. The Hoffnungsfelder church group had five settlement centers: Mayfair, Mullingar, Rabbit Lake, Bournemouth, and Glenbush, of which Rabbit Lake was originally the primary location.
By 2004, attendance had declined to the point where the congregation began to worship regularly with the Glenbush congregation. Christmas and Easter services along with funerals were still held in the Rabbit Lake church.
In 2017 the name of the congregation was anglicized to Fields of Hope Mennonite Church.
The language of worship is English; the transition from German occurred in the 1960s.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite(12 November 2012): 21.
CMC Nexus (November 1996): 4-5.
"Hoffnungsfelder Mennonite Church at Rabbit Lake, Sask," translation by Frank H. Epp from "Kirchenbuch der Hoffnungsfelder Mennoniten-Gemeinde bei Rabbit Lake, Sask." by A. A. Friesen. Mennonites in Canada Files - Rabbit Lake, 1920, Mennonite Archives of Ontario.
Schulz, Donna. "Saskatchewan Congregation adopts new English Name." Canadian Mennonite 21, no. 19 (23 October 2017): 15.
Unpublished congregational history, 1978, 16 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Additional Information
Address: Box 58, Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan S0M 2L0 (Located 2 km south, 1.5 km west of Rabbit Lake)
Phone: 306-824-4448
Denominational affiliations:
Conference of Mennonites of Saskatchewan/Mennonite Church Saskatchewan
Conference of Mennonites in Canada (1931-1999)
Mennonite Church Canada (1999-present)
General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1999)
Fields of Hope Pastors
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jacob Janzen | 1930-1938 |
| Cornelius C. Matthies | 1930-1946 |
| Peter Plenert | 1930-1946 |
| Abram Martens | 1933-1937 |
| Abram Warkentin | 1933-1934 |
| Daniel Jakob Loewen | 1936-1942 |
| Heinrich Klassen | 1938-1945 |
| J. Hildebrandt | 1954-1966 |
| C. Martens | 1964-? |
| Don Unger | 1983-2011 |
| Chad Doell | 2012-2016 |
| Celeste A. Wright | December 2016-present |
Fields of Hope Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1965 | 25 |
| 1975 | 22 |
| 1985 | 24 |
| 1995 | 20 |
| 2000 | 24 |
| 2010 | 27 |
| Author(s) | Marlene Epp |
|---|---|
| Sam Steiner | |
| Date Published | October 2017 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Epp, Marlene and Sam Steiner. "Fields of Hope Mennonite Church (Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2017. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fields_of_Hope_Mennonite_Church_(Rabbit_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=161490.
APA style
Epp, Marlene and Sam Steiner. (October 2017). Fields of Hope Mennonite Church (Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fields_of_Hope_Mennonite_Church_(Rabbit_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=161490.
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