La Glace Bible Fellowship (La Glace, Alberta, Canada)

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La Glace Mennonite Brethren Church, 1950
Creator: Henry J. Wiens (1885-1975)
Digitized by Hiebert Library. Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies
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Mennonite immigrants from the Soviet Union began arriving in northern Alberta in 1925, settling in the Clairmont area. Those affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren Church in the Soviet Union attended the Clairmont Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Church. More Mennonite families settled on the Adair Ranch near La Glace in 1926, including several Mennonite Brethren families. In the spring of 1928, Mennonite Brethren families from Clairmont, the Adair Ranch, and La Glace began gathering together for services in a home, and formally organized as the La Glace Mennonite Brethren Church. Ministers Heinrich Neufeld and J. P. Wiebe from Saskatchewan visited the group and ordained Nick Siebert Sr. to the ministry. C. Friesen offered the north-west corner of his land two miles south of La Glace for a church site and graveyard, and a building was completed in 1929. The congregation joined the Alberta Mennonite Brethren Conference in that same year.

In its early years the congregation experienced vibrant growth, both numerically and spiritually. There was also a good relationship with the neighboring General Conference Mennonite congregation, with the two congregations holding joint Thanksgiving festivals, youth meetings, and Bible conferences. 

In the fall of 1933 the church was able to establish the La Glace Mennonite Brethren Bible School. Teachers employed by the school included Gerhard Harder, Isaac Dick, Jacob Pankratz, Abram Schierling, Jacob Franz, and David Ewert. Classes were held until 1946.

In the 1940s families began to leave for the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. The transition from German to English occurred in the 1950s. Ministers prior to 1955 included G. Wiens, J. Schmidt, Martin Hamm, Nick Siebert and Abe Janz.

In 1961 the church built a new meeting house using the old Bible School building. A subsequent building program took place in 1980. The name of the congregation was changed to the La Glace Bible Fellowship Church in 1985.

Bibliography

Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. "La Glace Bible Fellowship." Web. 14 March 2012. http://www.mbconf.ca/home/products_and_services/resources/published_genealogies/mb_provincial_conferences_and_church_congregation_records/alberta_archives/la_glace_bible_fellowship_archives/

Epp, Mary Konrad. "History of the La Glace Mennonite Brethren Bible School, 1933-1946." Unpublished typescript, 1987, 4 pp. Mennonite Historical Society of Canada collection, Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

Jubilee Celebration: Mennonite Brethren Church, La Glace, Alberta, 1928-1978, 35 pp.

Mennonite Brethren Herald (1 September 1978): 19; (27 May 1988): 9.

The Mennonite Sojourn in the Peace River Area: A Companion to Our Reunion, June 15, 16, 17, 2001, David Friesen, gen. ed. 2001.

Siebert, Mary N. "An Historic Overview of the MB Church of La Glace Now Called the La Glace Bible Fellowship." Unpublished typescript, 1985, 4 pp. Mennonite Historical Society of Canada collection, Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

Toews, John A. A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church: Pilgrims and Pioneers. Winnipeg, MB: Kindred Press, 1975: 166, 262. Available in full electronic text at: https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfTheMennoniteBrethrenChurch.

Archival Records

Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Winnipeg, MB: Volume 334, Reel 54.

Additional Information

Address: 9901 99 St. La Glace, Alberta T0H 2J0

Telephone: 780-568-4341

Website: https://www.laglacebiblefellowship.com/

Denominational Affiliations:

Alberta Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1929-present)

Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1929-present)

General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1929-2002)

La Glace Bible Fellowship Ministers

Minister Years
Johann P. Schmidt 1928–1932
Abram Janz  1932-1938
Abram H. Konrad 1938–1943
Martin Hamm 1944–1945
Abram H. Konrad 1945–1951
John Kroeker 1951-1952
Ed C. Martens 1952–1957
Henry Willms 1957-1960
George Block 1960–1962
Victor Pankratz 1963-1976
Dwight Nickel 1976–1978
John P. Schmidt (interim) 1978
Art Isaac 1979–1983
Peter Boschman 1984–1994
Arthur Dyck 1994-1995
Henry Willms (interim) 1996-1997
Nelson Senft 1997-present

La Glace Bible Fellowship Membership

Year Members
1937 73
1955 52
1965 45
1985 48
1995 66
2000 84
2010 70
2015 68


Author(s) A. A. Toews
Richard D. Thiessen
Date Published July 2016

Cite This Article

MLA style

Toews, A. A. and Richard D. Thiessen. "La Glace Bible Fellowship (La Glace, Alberta, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2016. Web. 9 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=La_Glace_Bible_Fellowship_(La_Glace,_Alberta,_Canada)&oldid=179078.

APA style

Toews, A. A. and Richard D. Thiessen. (July 2016). La Glace Bible Fellowship (La Glace, Alberta, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 9 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=La_Glace_Bible_Fellowship_(La_Glace,_Alberta,_Canada)&oldid=179078.




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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 264. All rights reserved.


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