Cornelsen, Erwin (1919-2020)
Erwin Cornelsen: minister and elder; born on 28 May 1919 in Schweingrube, Stuhm, Prussia, the eldest of nine children of Franz Benno Cornelsen (8 August 1894, Thiensdorf, Klein Werder, Prussia – 14 October 1972, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) and Marie (Wiehler) Cornelsen (8 June 1895, Thiensdorf, Klein Werder, Prussia – 26 February 1985, Muenster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany). Erwin married Hildur Elisabeth Deckert (26 November 1917, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany – 4 Mary 2001, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), daughter of Hermann Deckert and Elisabeth (Grohmann) Deckert, on 19 August 1944 in Elmshorn, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and they had 5 children: Hermann, Gerhard, Heinz, Siegfried, and Richard. Erwin died on 26 December 2020 at Menno Hospital in Abbotsford, British Columbia, at the age of 101, and was buried in Surrey, British Columbia.
Erwin grew up on the family farm in Schweingrube, Prussia. He didn’t want to fulfill his father’s wishes that he also farm, and so in 1936 he enlisted in the German military, with the promise of a free education after 12 years of service. However, the Second World War broke out less than three years later, and Erwin spent most of the war in Oslo, Norway, working in search and rescue.
In 1938, Erwin experienced a profound deepening of his Christian faith and he joined a small group of evangelical Christians in Oslo. There, he met his future wife, Hildur Deckert, a fellow German who was conscripted to work in a general’s office. The two were married in Germany in 1944.
Following the war’s end in 1945, Erwin’s hometown became part of Poland, and some of his family immigrated to Canada. Hildur and Erwin stayed in Germany and, with no career and no prospects, Erwin turned to the craft of woodworking and furniture making for the next decade. The couple had four sons, and Erwin began testing his skills in Christian ministry. In 1956, after Hildur’s parents had both died, the family moved to British Columbia to join other family members, and there their fifth son was born.
Erwin made his living in carpentry until his passion for church work led him to be ordained in 1960 to lay ministry at First United Mennonite Church in Vancouver. He took on the role as associate pastor in 1964, and then, in 1968, was called to be the first pastor of Sherbrooke Mennonite Church, a church plant of First United Mennonite, also located in Vancouver. Later, he was ordained as Aeltester in the Mennonite Church. He served as senior pastor at Sherbrooke until 1978, and again from 1982 to 1984. He was interim pastor of the Langley Mennonite Fellowship in 1978.
Erwin cared about the wider church, attended numerous Mennonite World Conferences, and served on national committees such as the Board of Christian Service. He also believed strongly in cooperation between General Conference Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren in British Columbia, and he was instrumental in merging the two Bible schools that became Columbia Bible College.
From 1978 to 1982, Erwin and Hildur returned to Germany, where they served in a pastoral assignment at Wolfsburg, serving German-speaking emigrés (Aussiedler) from the Soviet Union. In 1985, he spent six weeks in the Mennonite colonies of Paraguay, speaking at "deeper life" meetings.
Throughout his life, Erwin continued his love for woodworking. With the lathe he brought back from Germany, he crafted furniture for family, and pulpits and communion tables for the churches he served. After his retirement, he sold handcrafted items from reclaimed wood at B.C.’s annual Mennonite Central Committee festival. Always practical about the reality of death, he fashioned his own casket and one for Hildur, who died in 2001.
Erwin lived in the same house in Vancouver for more than six decades. In his retirement, he found joy through engaging with people, and especially children, in his neighborhood on daily walks to the YMCA.
Cornelsen moved to Abbotsford in 2017, at the age of 98, to live at Menno Place. He was privileged to celebrate his 100th birthday in 2019.
Among the many things Erwin will be fondly remembered for: the twinkle in his eye, his cheerful countenance, the delicious pumpernickel bread he baked, the candle he lit every morning at breakfast for his late wife Hildur, his appreciation of nature and the outdoors, his love of stories, his spirit of inclusiveness and reconciliation, his encouragement of young women to pursue their ministry gifts, his desire to continue lifelong learning, and his passion to help others follow Jesus. Both Erwin and Hildur taught with their words and their actions how to build on the firm foundation of God’s unending love and amazing grace in Jesus Christ.
Bibliography
Schultz, Ingrid. Personal e-mail. "Article on Erwin Cornelsen." (14 March 2021).
Waddell, Amy Rinner. "Woodworker, Pastor Dies at 101." Canadian Mennonite (1 February 2021): 24.
| Author(s) | Amy Rinner Waddell |
|---|---|
| Ingrid Schultz | |
| Date Published | December 2021 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Waddell, Amy Rinner and Ingrid Schultz. "Cornelsen, Erwin (1919-2020)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2021. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cornelsen,_Erwin_(1919-2020)&oldid=172789.
APA style
Waddell, Amy Rinner and Ingrid Schultz. (December 2021). Cornelsen, Erwin (1919-2020). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Cornelsen,_Erwin_(1919-2020)&oldid=172789.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.