©Mennonite Heritage Centre 2003
Last updated 30 May 2003.  

Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Bethel Mennonite Church (Langley, B.C.)

Retrieval numbers: Volumes 96, 97, 1953, 2916, 3911, 4003, 4701, 4914; microfilm no. 352.

Title: Bethel Mennonite Church (Langley, B.C.) fonds
Dates: 1942-2002
Extent: 48 cm of textual records
Extent: 1 microfilm reel
Repository: Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives

Historical note

The Bethel Mennonite Church was founded in 1936 in the Aldergrove area of Langley, B.C. It was called the Coghlan Mennonite Church until 1951. Families had moved into the area by the early 1930s from the prairies. The first meeting house was completed in 1937. In 1939 the membership was 38. In 1944 the meeting house was expanded and again in 1948. After W.W.II there was a major influx of new families causing the membership to rise from 117 in 1947 to 274 in 1960. That number fluctuated somewhat during the next 40 years to be again 274 in 2000. The first Mennonite Bible school in B.C. was begun in 1939 in this church by Nicolai W. Bahnmann. The school was later moved to Abbotsford. In 1957 a new meeting house was completed on the same site. The leaders of the congregation were: Heinrich Dück (1935-1969), Nicolai W. Bahnmann (1935-1944), Aron Jantzen (1935-1985), Jacob Siemens (1943-1948), Johannes Regier (1946-1956), Richard Friesen (1947-1964), Johann Görtz (1949-1952), Jacob Bärg (1950-1952), Nikolas Friesen (1955-1995), John Neufeld (1963-1969), Rudy Goerzen (1966-1974), Peter Retzlaff (1976-1984), John Friesen (1985-1990), Peter Bartel (1990-1997), George Hoeppner (1998- ).

Scope and content note

This fonds contains bulletins (1963-2002), newsletters (1975-1981), annual reports (1963-2001), directories (1963-1995), programmes and reports (1948-[1956]), congregational meeting minutes (1942-2001), church council meeting minutes (1942-1981), and calendars (1991-2001). The records pertain to the founding and development of the Mennonite congregation in Langley, B.C. They document some of the leaders and participants in the congregation.

Subject terms

Bethel Mennonite Church (Langley, B.C.)

Creators

Bethel Mennonite Church (Langley, B.C.)

Coghlan Mennonite Church (Aldergrove, B.C.)

Adjunct descriptive data

Finding aids

Inventory file list available.

Notes

Restrictions on access

No restrictions on access.

Other notes

Textual records have been deposited by the congregation on a regular basis at the Mennonite Heritage Centre. Described by Bert Friesen 2 January 2003.

Bethel Mennonite Church (Langley, B.C.) fonds file list:

Volume 96

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1963)
  2. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1964)
  3. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1965)
  4. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1966)
  5. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1967)
  6. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1968)
  7. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1969)
  8. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1970)
  9. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1971)

Volume 97

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1972)
  2. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1973)
  3. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1974)
  4. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1975)
  5. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1976), directory (1976), annual reports (1976)
  6. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1977)
  7. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1978)

Volume 1953

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1979)
  2. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1980)
  3. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1981), newsletter (1981)
  4. Bethel Mennonite Church annual reports (1963-1965, 1967, 1973, 1975-1978, 1980)
  5. Bethel Mennonite Church directory (1963, [1975])
  6. Bethel Mennonite Church newsletters (1975-1976, 1978-1981)
  7. Bethel Mennonite Church cornerstone laying service (1948), building report ([1956])
  8. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1982), annual reports (1982), congregational meeting minutes (1982)

Volume 2916

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1983), annual reports (1983), congregational meeting minutes (1983)
  2. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1984), directory (1984), annual reports (1984), congregational meeting minutes (1984)
  3. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1985), directory (1985), annual reports (1985), congregational meeting minutes (1985)
  4. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1986), constitution (1986), directory (1986), annual reports (1986), congregational meeting minutes (1986)
  5. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1987), annual reports (1987), congregational meeting minutes (1987)
  6. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1988), annual reports (1988)

Volume 3911

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1989), directory (1989), annual reports (1989), congregational meeting minutes (1989)
  2. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1990), annual reports (1990), congregational meeting minutes (1990)
  3. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1991), monthly calendars (1991), directory (1991), annual reports (1991), congregational meeting minutes (1991)
  4. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1992), directory (1992), monthly calendars (1992), annual reports (1992), congregational meeting minutes (1992)

Volume 4003

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1993), directory (1993), annual reports (1993), congregational meeting minutes (1993), monthly calendars (1993)
  2. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1994), annual reports (1994), congregational meeting minutes (1994)
  3. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1995), directory (1995), annual reports (1995), congregational meeting minutes (1995)
  4. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1996), annual reports (1996), congregational meeting minutes (1996)
  5. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1997), monthly calendars (1997), annual reports (1997), congregational meeting minutes (1997)

Volume 4701

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1998), annual reports (1998), directory (1998)
  2. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (1999), annual reports (1999), congregational meeting minutes (1999)
  3. Bethel Mennonite Church annual reports (2000), congregational meeting minutes (2000), monthly calendar (2000)
  4. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (2001), annual reports (2001), congregational meeting minutes (2001), monthly calendars (2001)
  5. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (2002)

Volume 4914

  1. Bethel Mennonite Church bulletins (2000)

Microfilm:

Microfilm No. 352 (MHC Project No. 107)

  1. Minutes, 1942-1981.
    1. Annual Congregational Meetings (Jahresversammlung, or Brudershaft)
    2. Council Meetings (Bruederberatung, Kirchenratsitzung, or Beratung der Gemeinde Arbeiter)
    3. Also includes District Meetings, Reports from the Women Association (Frauenverein), Board of Trustee Meetings, etc.
  2. Annual Reports of the Bethel Mennonite Church, 1963-1966, 1973, 1975-1978, 1980.
  3. Membership Lists, 1963, 1975.
  4. Newsletters: (Vol. 1 No. 1) May 1975, December 1976, March 1978, November 1979, February – April 1980, February 1981.
  5. Correspondence regarding the church building
    1. "Ecksteinlegung beim Anbau der Mennoniten Kirche zu Coghlan, BC, Den 18 August 1948."
    2. Letter from N.N. Friesen, dated ca. October 27, 1956.
  6. History
    1. Warkentin, Mary. "The Bethel Mennonite Church, Aldergrove B.C." Research Paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1978. Located in the Vertical File at Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
    2. "Bethel Mennonite Church Aldergrove." In Echoes 39-64: The Conference of United Mennonite Churches of British Columbia. (A history emanating out of the 25th anniversary of the Bethel Bible Institute, Abbotsford, B.C.) Edited by John H. Neufeld. [1964?]. page 4.
    3. "Bethel Mennonite Church." In Churches in Profile: Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1978. Edited by Jake Tilitzky. Clearbrook, BC: Printed by A. Olfert and Sons, Ltd. [1978?]. Pages 7-15.