Horse Lake Mennonite Church (Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)
Source: Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website
Source: Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website
In the 1920s Mennonites began to settle in the farming area of Horse Lake (Lac Cheval). Occasional visiting pastors from the Rosenorter Gemeinde provided services in homes. In 1938 they formally organized and established a Sunday School program in the home John J. Reimer. In 1941 the Mennonites built a small, 5.5 m (18 feet) by 9.1 (30 feet) church building and established a cemetery. This was located at 52.92134°N 106.34191°W. In 1943 John J. Reimer and Willy Janzen were elected as lay pastors. They were soon supported by Klaas Kroeker, an ordained pastor, who served as assistant pastor until 1955 when he moved to British Columbia. In the early 1940s Kroeker started outreach pastoring to secluded Mennonite families in the MacDowell, Saskatchewan, area about 30 km northeast of Horse Lake. This small group met in the Sunbeam Valley School, SD#5198, located on SW2-45-03-W3. In 1944 six people from MacDowell were baptized in the Horse Lake church as were a few other young people over the years from MacDowell. In the 1950s many Mennonites from the MacDowell area moved away and after Kroeker left the remaining members joined the local Anglican church.
The Horse Lake Mennonite Church had a close association with the nearby Garthland Mennonite congregation. For example Jacob Pauls was ordained in 1949 to serve at Garthland Mennonite Church, but also served as needed at Horse Lake particularly after Garthland closed in 1954 and before he moved to Saskatoon in 1960.
In 1958 the Tiefengrund Church planned to build a new building and made available its old building to the Horse Lake congregation. This building was moved to its current site at: 52.92944°N 106.3418°W on Wiens road, which is Saskatchewan highway 783. This location was about 0.75 kilometres north of the original site. The original Horse Lake church building was moved and became a private residence.
In 2010 the congregation entered into a sharing arrangement with the nearby Eigenheim Mennonite Church in which one Sunday per month members worshiped with Eigenheim and one Sunday per month Eigenheim leaders brought a worship service to the Horse Lake Mennonite Church.
After a worship service on 26 June 2016, Horse Lake Mennonite Church closed its doors. The pastoral couple, Walter and Esther Janzen, had retired. Walter was the son of founding pastor Willy Janzen
The original cemetery was still actively utilized in 2011.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (17 October 1958): 1.
Mennonite Reporter (6 January 1991): 9.
Rempel, J. G. Die Rosenorter Gemeinde in Saskatchewan. Rosthern, Sask: D. H. Epp, 1950, 183 pp.
Their dreams-- our memories: a history of Duck Lake and district. Duck Lake, Sask.: Duck Lake History Committee, Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, 1988. 2 volumes.
Archival Records
Photocopied records at Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Cemetery Records:
Mennonite Historical Society of Saskatchewan Archives, vol. 6.7.
Additional Information
Address: Box 278, Duck Lake SK S0K 1J0
Location: southwest 1/4 Sec. 2 Township 45 Route 3 west of 3rd Meridian
Phone: 306-467-4814
Denominational Affiliations:
Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1941-2016)
General Conference Mennonite Church (1941-1999)
Pastoral Leaders at Horse Lake Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| John J. Reimer | 1943-? |
| Willy F. Janzen | 1943-1968 |
| Klaas Kroeker | 1940?-1955 |
| Jacob Pauls | 1949-1960 |
| Bill Zacharias (also taught at Swift Current Bible Institute) | 1958-1963 |
| Frank Sawatzky | 1968-1972 |
| Walter E. Janzen | 1972-2016 |
Horse Lake Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1941 | 20 |
| 1945 | 30 |
| 1950 | 65 |
| 1955 | 75 |
| 1960 | 35 |
| 1965 | 29 |
| 1970 | 14 |
| 1975 | 17 |
| 1980 | 24 |
| 1985 | 26 |
| 1990 | 14 |
| 1995 | 14 |
| 2000 | 14 |
| 2005 | 14 |
| 2010 | 14 |
| 2015 | 12 |
| Author(s) | Victor G. Wiebe |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | June 2016 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wiebe, Victor G. and Richard D. Thiessen. "Horse Lake Mennonite Church (Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2016. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Horse_Lake_Mennonite_Church_(Duck_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174984.
APA style
Wiebe, Victor G. and Richard D. Thiessen. (June 2016). Horse Lake Mennonite Church (Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Horse_Lake_Mennonite_Church_(Duck_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=174984.
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