Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada)

Rev. Peter J. Klassen during construction of the Superb Mennonite Church, 1944.
Source: Lois Siemens.

Superb Mennonite Church, ca. early 1950s.

Superb Mennonite Church, 2014.
Source: Lois Siemens

One hundred and thirty miles (210 km) west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on a spur line of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that runs south west of Kerrobert, Saskatchewan lay the little hamlet of Superb. Here in 1927-1928, through the efforts of the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization, 10 Mennonite families, all immigrants from the Soviet Union, took up land on what was known as the “Exel” or “XL” farms. The first family arrived on 5 January 1927, Rev. Peter J. Klassen, his wife, and six children, (four children were born later). The second family arrived in November 1927, Mrs. Helena Janzen, her six children, and her mother, Mrs. Wiens. All of the other families arrived in March 1928. They were: Katherine and Jacob Wiebe, Sr. with seven children (plus one born later); Anna and Peter Epp with 2 children; Susanna and Kornelius Peters with five children (plus two born later); Rudolph Friesen; Sarah and Henry Epp with two children (plus six born later); Marie and Peter Heinrichs with 3 children; Mr. and Mrs. Peter Siemens; Annie Siemens; Susie Siemens; Henry Wiebe (Peter Siemens' hired help); Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hooge with five children (plus one born later).

The group began Sunday worship services immediately, taking turns hosting the service in their homes. Twenty miles (32 km) north of Superb at Luseland, a few more Mennonite families took up land in 1928-29 under the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization. These families were: Rev. Peter A. and Helen Warkentin with 10 children; Mr. and Mrs. John Ewert with 4 children; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Poetker with 7 children; Maria and Peter Penner with 2 children; Grandmother Marie Lehn who lived with the Penners; David Unger who shared the farm with Peter Penner.

Peter A. Warkentin organized the Luseland group for worship. The two groups met as often as they could for joint worship as travel was difficult in those days. Travel eased as families were able to purchase vehicles, and the two groups banded together and built a church in 1944, which was dedicated in 1945. The cost to build was $1,906.87, not including all the volunteer labor. Since only an Elder could perform baptism and communion, early on the group joined the Ebenfeld church group (Gemeinde) with Elder Jakob B. Wiens at Herschel. The other churches in the Gemeinde were at Fiske, and Glidden. They had annual meetings and a picnic. The Gemeinde disbanded in 1972 and in 1973 the congregation at Superb officially became Superb Mennonite Church.

The transition from German to English was slow. One catalyst was marriages to English girls who not only did not know German but wanted to sit on the men’s side with their new husbands. In 1967, the minutes from the annual meeting were read in English for the first time. It 1972 the decision was made to purchase half of the Adult Sunday School lesson books in English.

In 1932, Rev. Peter J. Klassen organized a mixed choir consisting of ten voices, teaching them to sing in harmony according to numbers on the scale instead of notes (Ziffersystem). Music continued to be a highlight of the congregation. Eileen Klaassen began a men’s choir around 1978 which sang for a few decades. Since 2001 the mixed choir is known as “Simply Superb.” During Grant Martens’ ministry (2001-2006) the choir performed Wheatbelt Gospel, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Wheatbelt Parables, and Godspell in 2011.

The congregation held its last service on 31 May 2020, and the church building was dismantled. The land was returned to the family of the original donor of the land, and all remaining funds were donated to a special project at Camp Shekinah.

Superb did not have its own cemetery and members were buried in the neighboring village cemeteries of Major or Luseland.

Bibliography

Mennonite Reporter (25 June 1984): 14.

Schulz, Donna. "‘Superb helped me continue to have faith’: Saskatchewan church building closes its doors after more than 75 years." Canadian Mennonite 24, no. 13 (22 June 2020): 20-21.

Siemens, Lois. "Superb Mennonite." Personal e-mail (25 June 2014).

Summach, Emily. "Churches leave a legacy: three Saskatchewan churches face decisions after closing their doors." Canadian Mennonite 26, no. 1 (10 January 2022): 26-27.

Additional Information

Address: Box 353, Kerrobert SK  S0L 1R0

Location: 24 km west of Kerrobert, 1.5 km south of Hwy. 51

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Saskatchewan

Mennonite Church Canada

Superb Mennonite Church Ministers

Minister	Years
Peter J. Klassen	1928-1948
Peter A. Warkentin	1934-1974
Werner Zacharias	1974-1986
David Feick	1986-1994
Eileen Wiebe	1994-1999
Grant Martens	2001-2006
Lois Siemens	2006-2017

Superb Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1965	79
1975	42
1985	52
1995	46
2000	50
2010	39
2015	31

Maps

Map:Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan)

Author(s)	Lois Siemens
	Samuel J. Steiner
Date Published	Janaury 2022

Cite This Article

MLA style

Siemens, Lois and Samuel J. Steiner. "Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Janaury 2022. Web. 27 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Superb_Mennonite_Church_(Kerrobert,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174994.

APA style

Siemens, Lois and Samuel J. Steiner. (Janaury 2022). Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Superb_Mennonite_Church_(Kerrobert,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174994.

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