Lichtenau Mennonite Church (Morris, Manitoba, Canada)
Mennonite immigrants from the Soviet Union settled in the Ste. Elizabeth area in 1925. More families followed in subsequent years. Worship services began in homes and then rented facilities in 1926. The church was formally organized in 1927. In the first few years both Mennonite ("Kirchliche") and Mennonite Brethren ("Brüdergemeinde") background families worshiped together. A similar settling occurred in the Arnaud area. In 1929 they completed their own meeting house at Ste. Elizabeth.
By 1931 the church had 4 ministers, 192 congregational members, and a total of 378 members and adherents.
In 1944 another meeting house was built in the Arnaud area. The families in the Ste. Elizabeth and Arnaud areas who had formed the Lichtenauer Mennoniten Gemeinde, named so in part because many were members of this Gemeinde in the Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, now became two independent congregations, the Lichtenau Mennonite Church and the Arnold Mennonite Church. They co-operated in some programs such as the Jugendverein. The village served the needs of the families in the area until the late 1960s when the village disappeared except for a few residences and the Roman Catholic church building. In 1970 the reunion committee published the history book Of Days Gone By. At the time of dissolution there were only a handful of active members, 10 to 12.
In late 1994 the building was moved to the Steinbach Mennonite Heritage Museum.
Bibliography
Mennonite Reporter (23 January 1995): 1, 15.
Of Days Gone By: History of the St. Elizabeth District. 1970, 153 pp.
Unpublished congregational history, 1980, 9 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Archival Records
Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, MB: Lichtenau Mennonite Church (Manitoba) fonds.
Additional Information
Denominational Affiliations:
Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba
Conference of Mennonites in Canada
General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1991)
Lichtenau Mennonite Church Ministers
| Minister | Years |
|---|---|
| Johann Enns | 1927-1932 |
| Peter Enns | 1930-1942 |
| Nikolai Unruh | 1933-1935 1950-1990 |
| Heinrich Friesen | 1934-1967 |
| P. Dirks | 1935-1936 |
| P. Heinrichs | 1935-1948 1951-1971 |
| H. Warkentin | 1935-1943 |
| Arndt Lehn | 1950-1967 |
| Victor Enns | 1968-1978 |
| Jack Loepp | 1974-1991 |
Lichtenau Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1931 | 192 |
| 1950 | 144 |
| 1965 | 99 |
| 1975 | 91 |
| 1980 | 78 |
| 1985 | 61 |
| 1991 | 44 |
| Author(s) | N. H. Unruh |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | May 2012 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Unruh, N. H. and Richard D. Thiessen. "Lichtenau Mennonite Church (Morris, Manitoba, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2012. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Lichtenau_Mennonite_Church_(Morris,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=167259.
APA style
Unruh, N. H. and Richard D. Thiessen. (May 2012). Lichtenau Mennonite Church (Morris, Manitoba, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Lichtenau_Mennonite_Church_(Morris,_Manitoba,_Canada)&oldid=167259.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 335. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.