First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)

First Mennonite Church, Saskatoon, SK
Source: Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website

Saskatoon First Mennonite Church had its beginning with the coming of the Mennonites from the Soviet Union after World War I. Mennonites who settled in Saskatoon were at first served occasionally by visiting ministers and students at the university beginning in 1924. It began primarily as an urban mission, specifically a Mennonite Girls' Home for young women working in the city. The first English Sunday School class began in 1936. In 1930 Jacob John "J. J." Thiessen was stationed here by the Home Mission Board. In 1932 a congregation was organized as a branch of the Rosenort Mennonite Church of Saskatchewan and Thiessen was ordained as minister. A new church was dedicated on 18 October 1936, with subsequent building programs in 1957 and 1990. In 1937 the congregation was reorganized as an independent church, and in 1938 Thiessen was ordained as its elder.

The congregation began the Pleasant Hill and Mayfair mission centers; the latter became first known as the Mayfair Mennonite Mission Church and later as Cornerstone Church.

The language of worship is English and German; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.

Bibliography

Dyck, John H. and Alvin P. Schellenberg, eds., First Mennonite Church, Queen St. and Fifth Avenue, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatoon, Sask.: First Mennonite Church, 1973, 74 pp.

Ens, Marg. "History of the First Mennonite Church in Saskatoon." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1958, 9 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.

Krahn,  Kim. "Anatomy of an Upheaval." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1985. Mennonite Heritage Centre.

Mennonite Reporter (19 April 1982): 11; (21 September 1992): B3; (5 September 1994): 2; (3 October 1994): 12.

Patkau, Esther. "J.J. Thiessen's Ministry in Saskatoon." M.Div thesis, Saskatoon Lutheran Theological Seminary, 1979, 252 pp.

Patkau, Esther. First Mennonite Church in Saskatoon, 1923-1982. Saskatoon, Sask.: First Mennonite Church, 1982, 319 pp.

Archival Records

Church records at  Mennonite Heritage Centre.

Additional Information

Location: 418 Queen St., Saskatoon, SK  S7K 0M3

Telephone: 306-244-6772

Website: First Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Saskatchewan (1959-present)

Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1938-present)

General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1999)

J.J. Thiessen (seated) and  N.W. Dick were pastors at First Mennonite in 1960.
Source: Canadian Mennonite photo.

First Mennonite Church Ministers

Minister	Years
J. J. Thiessen	1930-1977
Jakob Gerbrandt	1947-1971
David Penner	1951-1962
N. N. Dick	1959-1961
Gerhard Wiens	1960-1969
Abram Martens	1962-1978
Menno Nickel	1965-1971
Abram Warkentin	1966-1978
Edward Enns	1963-1971
Henry Wiens	1971-1983
Henry Reimer	1984-1994
Arnie Fehderau	1996-2014
Rod Suderman	2016-present

First Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1950	288
1957	348
1965	505
1975	434
1985	369
1995	253
2000	218
2005	202
2010	162
2020	80

Author(s)	Jacob J. Thiessen
	Marlene Epp
Date Published	October 2014

Cite This Article

MLA style

Thiessen, Jacob J. and Marlene Epp. "First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2014. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Saskatoon,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=171926.

APA style

Thiessen, Jacob J. and Marlene Epp. (October 2014). First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Saskatoon,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=171926.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 427. All rights reserved.

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