View source for Gerber, Noah (1863-1937)

Noah Gerber: deacon of the [[Mayton Mennonite Church (Mayton, Alberta, Canada)|Mayton Mennonite Church]] in central [[Alberta (Canada)|Alberta]], was born on 7 November 1863 near [[Bloomington (Illinois, USA)|Bloomington]], Illinois, and died near Mayton, Alberta, on 3 November 1937. He married Catharine Stoll in [[Hickory County (Missouri, USA)|Hickory County]], [[Missouri (USA)|Missouri]], in 1884. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters.

Noah Gerber joined the Mennonite Church in Missouri at the age of 20. The family moved from Missouri to the Carstairs district in 1903, briefly rented land there, but then purchased a homestead in the Mayton district. In July 1903 the Mayton congregation initiated a search for a deacon. Noah Gerber was not present at the meeting, but his name was included in the lot, which fell on him. He was ordained several weeks later, and served the congregation until it disbanded in 1918.

Noah Gerber's assignment became very difficult in 1906 when Amos Bauman, the minister and bishop of the Mayton Mennonite Church, wrote and published two controversial articles in the <em>[[Gospel Herald (Periodical)|Gospel Herald]],</em> the main North American journal of the Mennonite Church. The articles dealt with the devotional head covering for women and sanctification as a second work of grace. [[Stauffer, Norman B. (1870-1927)|Norman Stauffer]], minister of the Mount View Mennonite Church, [[Shantz, Israel R. (1863-1910)|Israel Shantz]], minister of the West Zion Mennonite Church, and Noah Gerber were asked to examine the articles and recommend appropriate action to be taken by the conference. Their recommendation, subsequently implemented by the [[Mennonite Conference of Ontario and Quebec|Mennonite Conference of Ontario]],with which the Alberta Mennonite Conference (later the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference and now the [[Northwest Mennonite Conference|Northwest Mennonite Conference]]) was affiliated, resulted in the removal of Bishop Bauman from his position as a minister and bishop of the Mayton congregation.

The Gerbers remained in Mayton after the congregation disbanded in 1918 and many of the members moved as a group to the [[Tofield (Alberta, Canada)|Tofield]] district. They apparently related to both the [[West Zion Mennonite Church (Carstairs, Alberta, Canada)|West Zion Mennonite Church]] and the local Mennonite Brethren in Christ (later the Missionary Church ) In his obituary it is noted that Noah Gerber was a deacon in the church for more than thirty years.
= Bibliography =
Regehr, T. D. <em>Faith, Life and Witness in the Northwest, 1903-2003: Centennial History of the Northwest Mennonite Conference</em>. Kitchener, ON : Pandora Press, 2003.

Stauffer, Ezra. <em>History of the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference</em>. Ryley, Alberta : Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference, 1960: 59.

<em>Sweaty Brows and Breaking Plows: History of Mayton May City Districts</em> - available at the Alberta-Glenbow Institute in Calgary: 221-225.
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