Mary Martha Girls' Home (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
The Mary Martha Girls' Home, located in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, was founded in 1935 by the General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM) to gather for spiritual guidance and care the large number of Mennonite girls working in this city. This service was rendered by the pastor of the Vancouver First United Mennonite Church. An experienced girl served as matron of the Home. At the beginning, approximately 45 girls made use of the Home but this number soon increased considerably. Then for a period the number decreased greatly until it rose during the new immigration, which started toward the end of the 1940's. On Thursday the Home was full of life, because then the girls working in the private homes had their weekly half-day off. They enjoyed social as well as spiritual fellowship, as the pastor then led in an hour of Bible study, which was always well attended. Sunday was observed in a similar manner, but then the girls shared in the worship with other Mennonites in the nearby church located at 659 East 52nd Avenue. This Home proved a great blessing for the girls, as well as for the churches as a whole (see also Bethel Girls' Home in Vancouver.)
The first superintendent of the Home was Jacob H. Janzen, 1935-1937, with his wife Elisabeth serving as matron. In 1937-1946 Jacob B. Wiens, the pastor of the Vancouver First United Mennonite Church, was superintendent, with his wife Erna serving as matron. In 1945 Katarina "Tina" Lehn became the matron, with Jacob and Erna Wiens serving as spiritual advisers.
Bibliography
Siemens, Ruth Derksen and Sandra Borger. Daughters in the City: Mennonite Maids in Vancouver, 1931-1961. Vancouver, BC: Fernwood Press, 2013.
| Author(s) | J. B Wiens |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wiens, J. B. "Mary Martha Girls' Home (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mary_Martha_Girls%27_Home_(Vancouver,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=128425.
APA style
Wiens, J. B. (1957). Mary Martha Girls' Home (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mary_Martha_Girls%27_Home_(Vancouver,_British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=128425.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 531. All rights reserved.
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