Mennonite Church Alberta

Major changes took place in Mennonite Church Alberta during the last half of the 20th century. In 1950 there were seven member congregations, all but one located in the rural areas of the province, and all served by unpaid lay ministers. By 1998 the conference numbered 21 affiliated congregations, with a total membership of 1,918. Each congregation was served by a professionally trained, salaried minister. In 2000 several congregations, including the large Coaldale Mennonite Church, withdrew from the conference over issues of congregational discipline, especially on the matter of congregational acceptance of homosexual members. In 2009 the conference numbered 17 congregations, in 2020 it numbered 12.

The six rural congregations affiliated with the conference in 1950 were, for the most part, little changed in membership and character in 1986. The exception was the Coaldale Mennonite Church, which is so close to a large urban center that many of its members work in the city. The newer congregations are located in urban centers. The lifestyle and form of worship in these congregations differs little from that found in other urban Protestant churches.

Menno Bible Institute, formally established in 1935, closed in 1966 for lack of enrollment. It had a profound influence on the conference during its 30-year history. The Alberta Conference then joined the Saskatchewan Conference of Mennonites in support of the Bible School at Swift Current, which has now closed as well. Interest in camping grew rapidly in the 1950s. In 1958 and 1959, 166 acres (67 hectares) on the Little Red River were purchased to establish a camp. Camp Valaqua has been developed so that it is suitable for both summer and winter programs. A retirement home was constructed in Coaldale in 1955 at a cost of $19,500. Most of the work was done by volunteer labor. The facility has been renovated several times since then and houses 14 residents (1987).

The conference has shared responsibilities in a number of other projects. It has given annual financial support to Rosthern Junior College and has appointed members to its board of directors. It actively participates in Mennonite Central Committee Alberta (MCCA and, in 1990, was directly involved in the Youth Orientation Unity, an MCC project at Warburg, which endeavored to rehabilitate youth offenders placed there by the attorney general's office.

Mennonite Church Alberta adopted its name in February 2002 when a new constitution was approved. Prior to that it was known as the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta.

2020 Update

In 2020 the following congregations were members of Mennonite Church Alberta:

Congregation	Location
Bergthal Mennonite Church	Didsbury
Bethal International Church Edmonton Oromo	Edmonton
Calgary Chin Church	Calgary
Calgary First Mennonite Church	Calgary
Edmonton Christian Life Community Church	Edmonton
Edmonton First Mennonite Church	Edmonton
Foothills Mennonite Church	Calgary
Holyrood Mennonite Church	Edmonton
Lethbridge Mennonite Church	Lethbridge
South Sudanese Mennonite Church	Edmonton
Springridge Mennonite Church	Pincher Creek
Trinity Mennonite Church	Calgary

Bibliography

CMC Directory 1998. Winnipeg: Conference of Mennonites in Canada, 1998: 87.

Mennonite Directory 2001. Scottdale, PA: Faith and Life Resources, 2001: 19-21.

Reimer, Margaret Loewen, ed., One Quilt, Many Pieces. Waterloo, ON: Mennonite Publishing Service, 1983: 51.

Schmidt, Doris Mendel, ed. Handbook of Information 1998.  Newton, KS: General Conference Mennonite Church, 1998: 103-104.

Additional Information

Website: Mennonite Church Alberta

Mennonite Church Alberta Conference Sessions: 1930-1980

Date	Place	Chairman	Vice-Chairman	Secretary
November 1930	Rosemary	Cornelius D. Harder	P. P. Dyck
November 1931	Didsbury	Wilhelm Martens	John J. Sawatzky
November 1932	Coaldale	Wilhelm Martens	David Janzen	John J. Sawatzky
November 1933	Gem	Wilhelm Martens	David Janzen	John J. Sawatzky
October 1934	Didsbury	Wilhelm Martens	David Janzen	John J. Sawatzky
November 1935	Coaldale	Wilhelm Martens	Cornelius D. Harder	John J. Sawatzky
July 1936	Rosemary	Wilhelm Martens	P. P. Dyck	John J. Sawatzky
March 1937	Springridge	Wilhelm Martens	David Janzen	John J. Sawatzky
March 1938	Didsbury	Wilhelm Martens	David Janzen	John J. Sawatzky
March 1939	Coaldale	David Janzen	Wilhelm Martens	John Vogt
March 1940	Tofield	David Janzen	Wilhelm Martens	John Vogt
March 1941	Rosemary	Wilhelm Martens	John J. Sawatzky	John Vogt
March 1942	Coaldale	John J. Sawatzky	Wilhelm Martens	John Vogt
March 1943	Didsbury	Wilhelm Martens	John J. Sawatzky	John Vogt
March 1944	Rosemary	Wilhelm Martens	David Janzen	John Vogt
March 1945	Tofield	David Janzen	John Vogt
March 1946	Grantham	David Janzen	Jacob D. Nickel	John Vogt
March 1947	Coaldale	David Janzen	Jacob D. Nickel	John J. Sawatzky
March 1948	Rosemary	Jacob D. Nickel	Cornelius G. Neufeld	John J. Sawatzky
March 1949	Didsbury	Jacob D. Nickel	Wilhelm G. Pauls	John J. Sawatzky
March 1950	Springridge	Jacob D. Nickel	Wilhelm G. Pauls	John J. Sawatzky
March 1951	Coaldale	Jacob D. Nickel	Wilhelm G. Pauls	John J. Sawatzky
March 1952	Tofield	Jacob D. Nickel	Wilhelm G. Pauls	D. P. Neufeld
March 1953	Coaldale	Jacob D. Nickel	Wilhelm G. Pauls	D. P. Neufeld
March 1954	Rosemary	Wilhelm G. Pauls	D. Boese	Peter A. Unger
March 1955	Gem	Wilhelm G. Pauls	Peter P. Schellenberg	Peter A. Unger
March 1956	Calgary	Wilhelm G. Pauls	Peter P. Schellenberg	Peter A. Unger
March 1957	Didsbury	Wilhelm G. Pauls	Peter P. Schellenberg	Peter A. Unger
March 1958	Tofield	Wilhelm G. Pauls	F. W. Dyck	Peter A. Unger
April 1959	Coaldale	Wilhelm G. Pauls	F. W. Dyck	Peter A. Unger
April 1960	Calgary	Wilhelm G. Pauls	F. W. Dyck	Peter A. Unger
April 1961	Rosemary	Wilhelm G. Pauls	F. W. Dyck	Peter A. Unger
April 1962	Didsbury	Wilhelm G. Pauls	F. W. Dyck	Peter A. Unger
April 1963	Tofield	F. W. Dyck	D. Boese	Jacob D. Nickel
April 1964	Coaldale	F. W. Dyck	C. Lorne Dick	A. Baergen
April 1965	Calgary 1st	F. W. Dyck	C. Lorne Dick	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1966	Rosemary	H. Walde	C. Lorne Dick	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1967	Calgary F.H.	H. Walde	C. Lorne Dick	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1968	Edmonton	H. Walde	J. Wiebe	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1969	Vauxhall	E. J. Harder	J. Wiebe	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1970	Didsbury	E. J. Harder	J. Wiebe	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1971	Taber	E. J. Harder	H. M. Dick	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1972	Tofield	Werner Froese	H. M. Dick	Henry D. Goerzen
April 1973	Coaldale	Werner Froese	H. M. Dick	E. Klassen
April 1974	Calgary 1st	Werner Froese	E. L. Dyck	E. Klassen
March 1975	Rosemary	Jacob D. Harder	E. L. Dyck	E. Klassen
April 1976	Calgary F.H.	Jacob D. Harder	F. David Dyck	E. Klassen
April 1977	Edmonton	Jacob D. Harder	F. David Dyck	E. Klassen
April 1978	Didsbury	Jacob D. Harder	F. David Dyck	E. Klassen
April 1979	Rosemary	Jacob D. Harder	F. David Dyck	D. Reimer
April 1980	Tofield	Jacob D. Harder	W. Wiebe	D. Reimer

Author(s)	C. Lorne Dick
	Samuel J. Steiner
Date Published	July 2010

Cite This Article

MLA style

Dick, C. Lorne and Samuel J. Steiner. "Mennonite Church Alberta." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2010. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_Alberta&oldid=168352.

APA style

Dick, C. Lorne and Samuel J. Steiner. (July 2010). Mennonite Church Alberta. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_Alberta&oldid=168352.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 181. All rights reserved.

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