Laird Mennonite Church (Laird, Saskatchewan, Canada)

Laird Mennonite Church, Laird, SK
Source: Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website

Laird was a district of the large Rosenort Mennonite Church (Rosenorter Gemeinde) of Saskatchewan, centering in the town of Laird (1950s population - 400; 2001 population - 236). It is located about 50 miles (80 km) north of the city of Saskatoon. The Rosenorter Gemeinde was established in 1894 by the Elder Peter Regier, who had emigrated from Prussia in 1893. In 1909 there were enough families in the wider area to form districts with a minister in charge of each. Eventually, the Rosenort Mennonite Church contained 11 church districts and had over 1,400 baptized members in the mid-1950s.

Laird was one of the first organized districts of this church. It had a church building since 1910. Additions to the church building were made in 1926 and 1959, and a new church was built in 1985.

In 1955 the Rosenorter Gemeinde split into two Gemeinden; namely, the Rosenorter and Vereinigten Mennoniten Gemeinden. Laird then belonged to the latter. The congregation became independent in 1962 when both Gemeinden dissolved.

Among the ministers during the first 60 years were Heinrich Warkentin, Jacob Janzen, Cornelius K. Ens, David Epp, Cornelius F. Sawatzky and Arthur Friesen. In the mid-1950s there were four ministers and one deacon serving the Laird district, which had over 100 members. The elder (in 1954) was J. G. Rempel, who lived in the main district of the congregation, Rosthern. The town also had a Mennonite Brethren church.

The language of worship is English; the transition from German occurred in the 1940s.

The congregation celebrated its centennial on 28-29 August 2010.

Bibliography

Canadian Mennonite (10 July 1970): 3; (20 September 2010): 23.

Mennonite Reporter (1 September 1986): 13.

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

Archival Records

Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives, Winnipeg, MB: Vols. 66, 1089, 4175, 4262.

Additional Information

Location: 220 1st Street N., Laird, SK

Mailing address: Box 178, Laird, SK S0K 2H0

Phone: 306-223-4230

Website: https://lairdmennonite.webs.com/

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Saskatchewan

Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada

General Conference Mennonite Church (until 1999)

Laird Mennonite Church Ministers

Minister	Years
David Epp	1911-1942
Cornelius Sawatzky	1928-1966
Isaac I. Penner	1941-1955
Arthur Pauls	1940-1969 1971-1985
Arthur Friesen	1944-1960
Peter Funk	1963-1966
George Dueck	1971-1977
Gary Giesbrecht	1978-1980
Leonard Enns	1982
Irvin Schmidt	1982-1989
Barb and Wilmer Froese	1991-2005
Benno Klassen (interim)	2005
Bruce Jantzen	2007-present

Laird Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1965	102
1975	70
1985	82
1990	58
1995	77
2000	109
2010	116
2015	112
2020	104

Author(s)	John G. Rempel
	Marlene Epp
Date Published	July 2021

Cite This Article

MLA style

Rempel, John G. and Marlene Epp. "Laird Mennonite Church (Laird, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2021. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Laird_Mennonite_Church_(Laird,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174986.

APA style

Rempel, John G. and Marlene Epp. (July 2021). Laird Mennonite Church (Laird, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Laird_Mennonite_Church_(Laird,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174986.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 268. All rights reserved.

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.