Braun, David William (1931-1993)
David William Braun: pastor and conference minister, born 7 July 1931 on a farm east of Didsbury, Alberta, the youngest child of 11 children of Jacob and Helena Braun, members of the Bergthal Mennonite Church. In 1956 he married Anne Willms from Coaldale, who proved to be a strong supporter of his ministry. Influenced towards the church at an early age, he was baptized at age 18 by Ältester C. G. Neufeld of the Bergthal Mennonite Church. After completing his studies at Canadian Mennonite Bible College he taught six years, 1956 to 1962, at Menno Bible Institute, Didsbury. He was ordained to gospel ministry while attending Seminary in Elkhart. David Braun died 9 July 1993. He was survived by his wife Anne, and two daughters, Lenora Marie (Michael Edwards) with two children Christopher and Jennifer, and Valerie Anne (Robert Proudfoot).
In 1982 Braun was asked to work as Conference Pastor as well as Youth Worker for the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta. When the two portfolios proved too much for him in 1984, he devoted all of his time as Conference Pastor. During his visits to congregations he listened to the concerns of pastors and church councils, while his wife Anne listened to the feminine side of the concerns. He worked to improve guidelines for the calling and ordination of pastors as well as the terms of their departures. He attended and conducted pastor installations and ordinations throughout the province. He stressed the importance of continuing education for pastors and encouraged sabbaticals. He himself took time for travel and some recreation.
Among the issues he faced were the remarriage of divorced persons, pre-marital cohabitation, as well as the problems that arose from extreme manifestations of the charismatic movement. He became part of the Ministerial Leadership Committee at both the Canadian and the General Conference levels.
Remarkably, in about 1961 David Braun started to preserve his papers for posterity. He began with course essays from college and seminary, sermons, and continued with papers he was asked to prepare for various committees and boards, as well as personal files. These papers demonstrate his efforts to build a stronger Alberta conference that worked seriously at difficult issues and congregational relationships.
Bibliography
The David William Braun (1931-1993) fonds in the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta's Archives, Calgary, Alberta, include 1.7 m. of textual records.
| Author(s) | Peter Penner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 2006 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Penner, Peter. "Braun, David William (1931-1993)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Braun,_David_William_(1931-1993)&oldid=179979.
APA style
Penner, Peter. (2006). Braun, David William (1931-1993). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 3 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Braun,_David_William_(1931-1993)&oldid=179979.
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