Garthland Rosenort Mennonite Church (Wingard, Saskatchewan, Canada)
In the 1920s Mennonites from the Hague-Osler Reserve and elsewhere began to move into the parkland area about 40 km. north of the town of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. At first they met in the local Garthland School, SD#2977. By about 1934 they were large enough to construct a church building on two acres of land (about 0.41 ha.) donated by Aron Zacharias. The building, located on a corner of South 26-46-03-W3 (52.9104°N 106.3512°W), was constructed of squared logs from the nearby Nesbit Forest Reserve. The logs were sawed by Frank Ens, a church member with a small saw mill, and finished with standard lumber. The cemetery was located just west of the church building which faced south. The church was named for the local Garthland School and the nearby hamlet of Garthland which had a post office for a short time and is now extinct. The nearest hamlet still with a post office is Wingard. Both are in the Rural Municipality of Duck Lake, RM463.
The congregation was assisted from the beginning by the Rosenort Tiefengrund Mennonite Church, whose Ältesters performed communion and baptism. Garthland was part of the Rosenort Church Gemeinde and was part of both the Saskatchewan Ministers and Deacons Conference that later became the Conference of Mennonites of Saskatchewan, and the Conference of Mennonites in Canada. In 1939 the congregation called Isaac Dyck, who had been active in Sunday School work, as their pastor and ordained him on 22 May 1939. Dyck passed away in 1952. In 1949 the congregation also called Jacob Pauls as pastor; he served until the church closed. The congregation was known for its fine choir led by Aron Zacharias. Both pastors served in the wider Rosenort Mennonite Church. Garthland had a close association with the nearby Horse Lake Mennonite church and often shared pastors. Coupled with the death of pastor Dyck, improved roads enabling easier transportation, a desire for better farmland and urban jobs, and finally the encroachment by government who wanted their land for the Wingard Community pasture caused the congregation membership to dwindle so that Garthland closed its doors in 1954. Membership never exceeded 30.
Over time the congregation records were lost. The cemetery which holds 15 graves is fenced and maintained in the community pasture.
Bibliography
Rempel, John G. Die Rosenorter Gemeinde in Saskatchewan. 1950, 183 pp.
Their Dreams-- Our Memories: A History of Duck Lake and District. Duck Lake, SK: Duck Lake History Committee, 1988, 2 volumes.
| Author(s) | Victor G Wiebe |
|---|---|
| Date Published | October 2011 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wiebe, Victor G. "Garthland Rosenort Mennonite Church (Wingard, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Garthland_Rosenort_Mennonite_Church_(Wingard,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=91852.
APA style
Wiebe, Victor G. (October 2011). Garthland Rosenort Mennonite Church (Wingard, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Garthland_Rosenort_Mennonite_Church_(Wingard,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=91852.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.