The Greenland Church of God in Christ, Mennonite congregation eight km southwest of Ste. Anne, Manitoba, Canada began in about 1890.

Most early members of the congregation were descendants of Mennonites who came to Canada from Russia in the 1870s. Originally these people were Kleine Gemeinde. Due to the evangelistic efforts of John Holdeman and Mark Seiler from 1879-1881 many people were baptized into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. The first family to move into the district was that of John F. Toews in 1890. The families of Peter Penner and Martin Penner followed in 1891. Martin Penner, who had been ordained 11 January 1882 became the congregation's first minister.

Initially, services were held in the Peter Penner home, but in 1894 the group constructed a small rough lumber building. Seating was provided by planks laying on sawhorses. The building was about 2.5 km southwest of the present building. School was conducted in the building beginning in 1897. In 1898 a new school building was erected across the road east of the present church. The original building was enlarged in 1905.

In 1911-12 twenty families from the congregation moved to Needles, British Columbia. Some returned to Manitoba while others moved to Alberta and Kansas. There was some increase also when some families moved to the area from the USA because of the treatment of Mennonites there during World War I.

In 1920 the congregation built a new church at the present location. In 1921 Sunday school was inaugurated in the German language. As time went on, these classes turned to English. The 1920 building proved too small by the end of World War II, so the building was dismantled and a new building was constructed on the same site. An addition that served as a new sanctuary was added in 1962. In 1994 the congregation decided to divide, and a new congregation was established at Rosewood.

Families from Greenland have moved to help start many other congregations, including Whitemouth, Cartwright, Maple View, Abbotsford, Grandview, Roblin, Swan River, Bredenbury, and New Brunswick.

From 1955 to 1978 the Greenland Home for the Aged was located here, though it was also supported by Manitoba and Saskatchewan congregations. After a devastating tornado in 1978, the building was dismantled and replaced by Maplewood Manor in Steinbach, Manitoba.

In 2019 the congregation was part of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. The ministers were Samuel Friesen, Edgar Wohlgemuth, Elroy Penner, Jesse Friesen, and Melvin Penner.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Samuel J Steiner
Date Published	August 2020

Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. Yearbook (2009): 35-36; (2019): 45-46.

Histories of the congregations. 3rd. ed. Moundridge, Kansas: Gospel Publishers, 1999: 90-95.

Additional Information

Address: R.R. 1, Box 28, Grp 15, Ste. Anne, Manitoba

Location: 5 km south of Ste. Anne on Hwy 12, then two miles west on Rd 43 N (Greenland Road)

Phone: 204-355-4967

Website:

Denominational Affiliations:

Church of God in Christ, Mennonite

Ordained Pastors at the Greenland Church of God in Christ, Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
Martin Penner (1849-1928)	1882-1928
Isaac H. Penner (1860-1924)	1904-1911
Jacob T. Wiebe (1872-1965)	1910-1965
Cornelius P. Wohlgemuth (1879-1959)	1910-1959
Peter A. Penner (1878-1956)	1918-1956
John M. Penner (1892-1971)	1931-1971
John P. Dueck (1903-1988)	1931-1988
David W. Penner (1920-1990)	1946-1980
Clifford Penner (1923-2014)	1951-1961
Ed P. Barkman (1917-1981)	1958-1974
Abe G. Penner	1963-1968
Ronald Wohlgemuth	1969-1994
Jesse Friesen	1974-present
Myrle Wohlgemuth	1982-1990
Ken Goossen	1989-1996
Edgar Wohlgemuth	1989-present
Melvin Penner	1990-present
Elroy Penner	2000-present
Samuel Friesen	2010-present

Membership at Greenland Church of God in Christ, Mennonite Church

Year	Membership
1950	285
1985	250
2000	169
2009	147
2019	161

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

The Greenland Church of God in Christ Mennonite Church is located five miles (eight km) southwest of Ste. Anne, Manitoba. The first members moved into the district in 1880, assembling in homes for worship services. The first meetinghouse was built in 1896, and later enlarged; the second was built in 1920, and the third in 1947, which seated 1,100. Martin Penner was the first minister, serving from 1891 until his death in 1928. In 1905 Isaac Penner was ordained as minister, but he with a number of members moved to British Columbia in 1912. Jacob T. Wiebe, a deacon, was chosen for the ministry in 1910 and was the presiding minister 1917-1943. John M. Penner, ordained in 1931, was the leading minister after 1943. The services, formerly held in the German, by the 1950s were conducted in both the German and English languages. The church had a membership of 285 in 1953. The sewing circle was started in 1935. Young people's meetings were held twice weekly during the winter season. Ministers from this congregation also held services at Ste. Anne, Prairie Rose, and Winnipeg for several years.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Steiner, Samuel J. "Greenland Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Ste. Anne, Manitoba, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2020. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Greenland_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Ste._Anne,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=169126.

APA style

Steiner, Samuel J. (August 2020). Greenland Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Ste. Anne, Manitoba, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Greenland_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Ste._Anne,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=169126.

Greenland Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Ste. Anne, Manitoba, Canada)

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