First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)

From GAMEO
Revision as of 23:51, 4 March 2023 by RichardThiessen (talk | contribs) (→‎First Mennonite Church Membership)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
First Mennonite Church, Saskatoon, SK
Source: Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website

Saskatoon First Mennonite Church had its beginning with the coming of the Mennonites from the Soviet Union after World War I. Mennonites who settled in Saskatoon were at first served occasionally by visiting ministers and students at the university beginning in 1924. It began primarily as an urban mission, specifically a Mennonite Girls' Home for young women working in the city. The first English Sunday School class began in 1936. In 1930 Jacob John "J. J." Thiessen was stationed here by the Home Mission Board. In 1932 a congregation was organized as a branch of the Rosenort Mennonite Church of Saskatchewan and Thiessen was ordained as minister. A new church was dedicated on 18 October 1936, with subsequent building programs in 1957 and 1990. In 1937 the congregation was reorganized as an independent church, and in 1938 Thiessen was ordained as its elder.

The congregation began the Pleasant Hill and Mayfair mission centers; the latter became first known as the Mayfair Mennonite Mission Church and later as Cornerstone Church.

The language of worship is English and German; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.

Bibliography

Dyck, John H. and Alvin P. Schellenberg, eds., First Mennonite Church, Queen St. and Fifth Avenue, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatoon, Sask.: First Mennonite Church, 1973, 74 pp.

Ens, Marg. "History of the First Mennonite Church in Saskatoon." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1958, 9 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.

Krahn,  Kim. "Anatomy of an Upheaval." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1985. Mennonite Heritage Centre.

Mennonite Reporter (19 April 1982): 11; (21 September 1992): B3; (5 September 1994): 2; (3 October 1994): 12.

Patkau, Esther. "J.J. Thiessen's Ministry in Saskatoon." M.Div thesis, Saskatoon Lutheran Theological Seminary, 1979, 252 pp.

Patkau, Esther. First Mennonite Church in Saskatoon, 1923-1982. Saskatoon, Sask.: First Mennonite Church, 1982, 319 pp.

Archival Records

Church records at  Mennonite Heritage Centre.

Additional Information

Location: 418 Queen St., Saskatoon, SK  S7K 0M3

Telephone: 306-244-6772

Website: First Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Saskatchewan (1959-present)

Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1938-present)

General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1999)

J.J. Thiessen (seated) and  N.W. Dick were pastors at First Mennonite in 1960.
Source: Canadian Mennonite photo.

First Mennonite Church Ministers

Minister Years
J. J. Thiessen 1930-1977
Jakob Gerbrandt 1947-1971
David Penner 1951-1962
N. N. Dick 1959-1961
Gerhard Wiens 1960-1969
Abram Martens 1962-1978
Menno Nickel 1965-1971
Abram Warkentin 1966-1978
Edward Enns 1963-1971
Henry Wiens 1971-1983
Henry Reimer 1984-1994
Arnie Fehderau 1996-2014
Rod Suderman 2016-2021
Paul Matheson 2022-present

First Mennonite Church Membership

Year Members
1950 288
1957 348
1965 505
1975 434
1985 369
1995 253
2000 218
2005 202
2015 111
2020 80
2020 80


Author(s) Jacob J. Thiessen
Marlene Epp
Date Published July 2021

Cite This Article

MLA style

Thiessen, Jacob J. and Marlene Epp. "First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2021. Web. 31 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Saskatoon,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174973.

APA style

Thiessen, Jacob J. and Marlene Epp. (July 2021). First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 31 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=First_Mennonite_Church_(Saskatoon,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174973.




Hpbuttns.png

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 427. All rights reserved.


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