Eigenheim Mennonite Church (Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada)

Eigenheim Mennonite Church
Source: Victor G. Wiebe, MHSS

Eigenheim was one of the congregations of the Rosenorter Gemeinde of Saskatchewan with a meeting house. The founder of this Gemeinde was Peter Regier (1851-1925). He had been appointed Altester in 1887 in Prussia. He emigrated to Tiefengrund in 1893. Enough families had settled in the area so that in 1894 the Rosenorter Gemeinde of Saskatchewan had been founded. The community in which the people lived was then named Eigenheim ("my own home"). The name Eigenheim was also the name of the local school district.

In those early days of settlement, it became a major effort to care for the spiritual needs of the people. Transportation was by oxen or horses. Peter Regier's workload lightened when his brother-in-law Abraham Friesen arrived from Prussia. He had already been ordained into the ministry. Gerhard Epp was ordained to the ministry in July of 1895 to serve in the Rosenorter church. Due to the inconvenience of meeting in homes, a church was built out of logs. This first Mennonite church in the Northwest was dedicated in June 1896. A few years later, the church was too small the original structure was replaced with a larger building in 1902.

In 1899, another settler in the area, Johann Dueck, was ordained to the ministry. With the death of Abraham Friesen in 1901, an election was held for a new minister. Rev. David Toews was chosen. In 1909, there were enough families in the wider area to form districts with a minister in charge of each. One of these was Eigenheim, under the leadership of Gerhard Epp. In 1929, Eigenheim withdrew from the Rosenorter organization and decided to continue as an independent congregation. Gerhard G. Epp was ordained as an elder and Jacob Klaassen, Johann Dueck, and Henry T Klaassen as ministers.

Bibliography

Klaassen, H. T. Birth and Growth of Eigenheim Mennonite Church, 1892-1974. Rosthern, Sask.: Eigenheim Mennonite Church, 1974, 85 pp.

Klaassen, Walter. "The days of our years": A History of the Eigenheim Mennonite Church Community, 1892-1992 Rosthern, Sask.: The Church, 1992, 312 pp.

Mennonite Reporter (24 August 1992): 15.

Rempel, J. G. Die Rosenorter Gemeinde in Saskatchewan. 1950, 183 pp.

Additional Information

Mailing address: Box 550, Rosthern, SK S0K 3R0

Location: 6 miles west of Rosthern on Hwy. 312

Phone: 306-232-4732

Website: https://eigenheimchurch.wixsite.com/welcome

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Saskatchewan (1959-present)

Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1929-present)

General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1999)

Pastoral Leaders at the Eigenheim Mennonite Church

Name	Years of Service
Peter Regier	1894-1913
Abraham Friesen	1894-1901
Gerhard Epp	1894-1919
Johann Dueck	1899-1939
David Toews	1901-1929
Cornelius Ens	1911-1923
Jacob Klaassen	1919-1943
Gerhard G. Epp	1919-1963
Henry T. Klaassen	1919-1964
Irvin Schmidt	1964-1976
Arthur Regier	1976-1977
Werner Froese	1977-1986
Barb & Wilmer Froese	1988
Walter Braun	1989-1992
Peter Janzen	1992-1995
Benno Klassen	1996-2003?
Allan Friesen	2003?-2017?
Pauline Steinmann (Interim)	2018
Rachel Wallace	2019-present

Eigenheim Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1955	245
1965	208
1975	166
1985	164
1995	136
2000	133
2010	150
2015	141
2020	142

Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article

By Gerhard G. Epp. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 170. All rights reserved.

Eigenheim Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite), located six miles west of Rosthern, Saskatchewan, a member of the Canadian Conference, was organized in 1894 as a subsidiary of the Rosenort Church of Saskatchewan by members of that church who settled in the Eigenheim area at that time. The congregation built a church in 1896. It became an independent congregation in 1929. In 1954 the congregation had 245 members with G. G. Epp as elder and H. T. Klaassen as minister.

The congregation has German services, 14 Sunday-school classes, two ladies aid societies, a large choir, and Friday evening catechism and Bible classes through the winter months. Jacob Klassen (d. 1948) and Johann Dueck have also served the congregation as ministers.

Author(s)	Alf Redekopp
Date Published	July 2021

Cite This Article

MLA style

Redekopp, Alf. "Eigenheim Mennonite Church (Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2021. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Eigenheim_Mennonite_Church_(Rosthern,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174971.

APA style

Redekopp, Alf. (July 2021). Eigenheim Mennonite Church (Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Eigenheim_Mennonite_Church_(Rosthern,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174971.

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