North Unity Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Langdon, North Dakota, USA)
The North Unity Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, was located 11 miles west of Langdon, Cavalier County, North Dakota, USA. Wheat and barley were the main crops raised here, along with dairy and beef farming.
The congregation began in spring 1888 when Jacob Toews, his wife, and four of their children moved to this community from Rosenort near Morris, Manitoba, Canada. They were soon joined by the Peter Penner family, also from Manitoba. Later the families of P. B. Fast, Jacob W. Toews, Jacob S., and Gerhard S. Friesen, and Peter and Cornelius Giesbrecht moved here. However, most of them did not remain very long and then returned to Canada or moved south to Nebraska or Kansas.
Church services were held in the homes. Sunday school was organized in about 1912. Because of moves, in 1915, there were only three members left. Revivals held during the next few years resulted in a gradual increase in the church membership.
In fall 1927, the small group purchased a church building and moved it to the location west of Langdon. It was enlarged and remodeled in 1952.
On 2 August 1931, Peter P. Toews was ordained to the ministry by F. C. Fricke. On 29 July 1934, Henry Amoth was ordained as a deacon, also by F. C. Fricke.
Through the years, approximately 75 persons were converted and baptized.
The congregation never had many more than 30 members at any one time. In 1946 deacon Henry Amoth and his family moved to Idaho. During this time, minister, Peter P. Toews, and most of his family also moved away in October 1957, leaving the congregation without a resident minister. Many families moved to Oregon, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. Ministers came from Manitoba on the second Sunday of each month, and the small group still met for Sunday school.
By 1973 the Langdon congregation had only two members. Services were last held here in fall 1966. Attendance after that was at the Grafton congregation.
The church building was later moved to a farm site two miles west of its original site. The church cemetery is located 0.25 mile south of where the church stood, then a short distance west on the north side of a grove of trees. A few hundred feet to the southwest was the homestead belonging to Jacob Toews, who also operated the Moscow post office there.
Through the years, the lack of available farmland and job opportunities contributed to the congregation's decline. Today, many of the old farmsteads have been cleared as farms have become larger. Consequently, old landmarks have disappeared.
Bibliography
Histories of the congregations. 3rd. ed. Moundridge, Kansas: Gospel Publishers, 1999: 427-429.
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Peter P. Toews. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 922. All rights reserved.
The North Unity Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, congregation located west of Langdon, Cavalier County, North Dakota, began with the coming of Jacob Toews in 1888, at which time the services were conducted in the homes. A Sunday school was organized in 1923. The 1950s church building was purchased in 1926. In 1921 Peter Toews was ordained and became the residing minister; until that time the church was served by adjoining congregations. The membership, of Dutch and Norwegian descent, was 31 in 1956.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | February 2021 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "North Unity Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Langdon, North Dakota, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2021. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=North_Unity_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Langdon,_North_Dakota,_USA)&oldid=170806.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (February 2021). North Unity Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Langdon, North Dakota, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=North_Unity_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Langdon,_North_Dakota,_USA)&oldid=170806.
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