View source for Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church (Herschel, Saskatchewan, Canada)

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[[File:Herschel%20Mennonite%20Church.JPG|300px|thumb|right|''Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church<br />
Source: [http://www.mcsask.ca/churches/herschel.htm Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website]'']]
Mennonites from Russia arrived in the Herschel area in the winter of 1924-1925. They organized their congregation in 1925 as the Ebenfeld Mennonite Church and joined the Conference of Mennonites. The congregation had 34 charter members under the leadership of Elder [[Wiens, Jakob B. (1870-1939)|Jacob B. Wiens]] and Gerhard Wiens. In 1926 there were 117 members. A meeting house was built in 1927. By 1936 the membership was 278. Following the death of J. B. Wiens in 1939, [[Thiessen, Jacob Johann "J. J." (1893-1977)|J. J. Thiessen]] served the church until 1943, when Cornelius J. Warkentin was elected and ordained elder. A number of different meeting places were begun over the next decades. In 1945 a new meeting house was built in [[Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada)|Superb]], one of the four meeting houses of this "Gemeinde." The other meeting places were [[Fiske Mennonite Church (Fiske, Saskatchewan, Canada)|Fiske]] and [[Ebenfeld Mennonite Church (Glidden, Saskatchewan, Canada)|Glidden]], along with Herschel.

The Ebenfeld Gemeinde was divided into four congregations in 1958 and in 1973 these congregations became independent. In 1980 the Ebenfeld congregation changed its name to the current Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church.

The leaders of the Ebenfeld church were: Jacob B. Wiens (1925-1939); J. J. Thiessen (1939-1942) on a visiting basis; and Cornelius J. Warkentin (1943-1957) [and he remained bishop of the four congregations (1958-1970)]. Since 1990 the leader of Herschel has also been the leader in Fiske.
= Bibliography =
''Canadian Mennonite'' (23 January 2012): 21.
''Der Bote'' (26 August 1953): 5.

Mennonite Heritage Centre. "Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church." Web. 9 July 2010. [http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/programs/archives/holdings/SK/SK_HerschelEMC.htm http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/programs/archives/holdings/SK/SK_HerschelEMC.htm].

'' Mennonite Reporter'' (16 November 1992): 11

Unpublished congregational history, 1965, 8 pp.  [http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/programs/archives/index.htm  Mennonite Heritage Centre].

===Archival Records=== 
Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, MB: [http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/programs/archives/holdings/SK/SK_HerschelEMC.htm Vols. 1432, 2305-2306, 3366-3366b, 3367, 4491].
= Additional Information =
'''Address''': Box 117, Herschel SK  S0L 1L0

'''Location''': Located two miles (three km) north of Herschel on Hwy. 31

'''Phone''': 306-377-4574

'''Website''': 

'''Denominational Affiliations''':

[[Mennonite Church Saskatchewan|Mennonite Church Saskatchewan]] (1959-present)

[[Conference of Mennonites in Canada|Conference of Mennonites in Canada]] / [[Mennonite Church Canada|Mennonite Church Canada]] (1925-present)

[[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite Church]] (1926-1999)

===Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church Ministers===
{|  class="wikitable" 
! Minister !! Years
|- 
| Cornelius J. Warkentin ||  align="right" | 1958-1964
|- 
| Arthur Wiens ||  align="right" | 1965-1985
|- 
| David Neufeld ||  align="right" | 1986-1999
|- 
| Claire and Garth Ewert-Fischer ||  align="right" | 2000-2011
|- 
| Lois Siemens (interim) ||  align="right" | 2011
|- 
| Gary and Margaret Ewert Peters ||  align="right" | 2011-present
|}
===Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church Membership===
{|  class="wikitable" 
! Year !! Members
|- 
| 1965 ||  align="right" | 86
|- 
| 1975 ||  align="right" | 71
|- 
| 1985 ||  align="right" | 67
|- 
| 1995 ||  align="right" | 77
|- 
| 2000 ||  align="right" | 75
|- 
| 2010 ||  align="right" | 73
|- 
| 2015 ||  align="right" | 74
|- 
| 2020 ||  align="right" | 72
|}
{{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 2, p. 137|date=July 2021|a1_last=Warkentin|a1_first=Cornelius J.|a2_last=Epp|a2_first=Marlene}}
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[[Category:Canadian Congregations]]
[[Category:Saskatchewan Congregations]]
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[[Category:General Conference Mennonite Church Congregations]]