©Mennonite Heritage Centre 2002
Last updated 8 Feb 19

Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives
Winnipeg, Manitoba

First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon) fonds

Retrieval numbers: Volume 70, 71 1625, 1941, 2435, 2779, 2954, 3908, 4008, 4257, 4917, 5522, 6363.

Title: First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon) fonds
Dates: 1946-2018
Extent: 95 cm of textual records

Historical note

Mennonites settled in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the 1920s. Regular worship services were organized in 1928. In 1930 the General Conference started a city mission work in Saskatoon. In 1932 this resulted in the founding of a congregation as part of the Rosenorter Gemeinde, a multi-congregation church. This congregation grew to become an independent congregation in 1938. They met in rented facilities until 1936 when the first meeting house was completed. The membership was 115 in 1939. In 1949 another congregation grew out of this congregation, the Mayfair Mennonite Church. The membership stood at 263 in 1950 and 300 in 1955. In 1957 the congregation built a new meeting house. The following year, 1958, another congregation grew out of this congregation, namely the Pleasant Hill Mennonite Church. In 1965 another congregation was formed, the Nutana Park Mennonite Church. In 1971 the membership was 486. In 1972 the meeting house was expanded. From that peak the membership slowly declined to 271 in 1995 and 223 in 2000. The leaders of the congregation were: J. J. Thiessen (1930-1977), Jakob Gerbrandt (1947-1971), David Penner (1951-1962), Gerhard Wiens (1960-1969), N. N. Dick (1959-1961), Abram Martens (1962-1978), Menno Nickel (1965-1971), Abram Warkentin (1966-1978), Edward Enns (1963-1971), Henry Wiens (1971-1983), Henry Reimer (1984-1994), Arnie Fehderau (1996- ).

Scope and content note

The fonds contains bulletins (1946-2018), baptismal register (1962-1970), congregational history (1973), congregational constitutions ([196-?]), annual reports (1956-1992, 2015), newsletters (1953-2000), congregational meeting minutes (1974-1992), congregational directories (1973-1990, 2000), and other programmes (1977-1992). The records pertain to the founding and development of the Mennonite congregation in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and they document the leaders and participants in the congregation.

Finding aids

Inventory file list available.

Notes

Language

Much German.

Other notes

Textual records have been deposited by the congregation at the Mennonite Heritage Centre on a regular basis. Described by Bert Friesen 6 February 2002. Updated by Alf Redekopp 11 March 2008. Updated by Selenna Wolfe 8 February 2019. 

First Mennonite Church, Saskatchewan fonds file list:

Volume 70

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1946-1959)
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1960), news release (1960)
  3. First Mennonite Church baptismal records (1962-1970) including Pleasant Hill, Warman and Aberdeen locals, one marriage certificate (1949)
  4. First Mennonite Church 40th anniversary book (1973); Pictorial directory (1978); Pictorial directory (1985-1986)
  5. First Mennonite Church congregational constitutions ([196-?], 1969)
  6. First Mennonite Church "Encounter" (newsletter) (1971-1972)
  7. First Mennonite Church congregational meeting minutes (1948, 1973-1980, 1983)
  8. First Mennonite Church directories (1967-1986)

Volume 71

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1961)
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1962)
  3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1963)
  4. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1964)
  5. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1965)
  6. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1966), congregational correspondence (1966)
  7. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1967)
  8. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1968)
  9. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1969)
  10. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1970)

Volume 1625

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1971)
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1972)
  3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1973); photo directory (1973)
  4. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1974)
  5. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1975)
  6. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1976)
  7. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1977), funeral programme for J. J. Thiessen (Aug. 1977)

Volume 1941

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1978); photo directory (1978)
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1979)
  3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1980)
  4. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1981), congregational newsletters (1981)

Volume 2435

  1. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1976-1983)
  2. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1984-1992)

Volume 2779

  1. First Mennonite Church Annual Reports (1960-1969)
  2. First Mennonite Church Annual Reports (1970-1979)
  3. First Mennonite Church Annual Reports (1980-1988)

Volume 2954

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1982)
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1983)
  3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1984)
  4. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1985)
  5. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1986)
  6. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1987)

Volume 3908

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1988), directory ([1988])
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1989) directory (1989-1990)
  3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1990), directory (1989-1990)
  4. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1991) 
  5. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1992)
  6. First Mennonite Church annual reports (1990-1992)
Volume 4008
  1. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1953)
  2. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1954)
  3. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1955)
  4. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1956)
  5. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1957)
  6. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1958)
  7. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1959)
  8. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1960)
  9. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1961)
  10. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1962)
  11. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1963)
  12. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1964)
  13. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1965)
  14. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1966)
  15. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1967)
  16. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1968)
  17. First Mennonite Church newsletters (1969)

Volume 4257

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1993), newsletters (1993)
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1994), newsletters (1994)
  3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1995), newsletters (1995)
  4. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1996), newsletters (1996)
  5. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1997), newsletters (1997)
  6. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1998), newsletters (1998)
  7. First Mennonite Church bulletins (1999), newsletters (1999)

Volume 4917

  1. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2000), newsletters (2000)
  2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2001), directory (2000)
  3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2002)
  4. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2003)
  5. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2004)
  6. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2005)
  7. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2006)
  8. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2007)
  9. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2008)

Volume 5522

1.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2009)

2.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2010)

3.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2011)

4.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2012)

5.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2013)

6.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2014)

7.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2015); 2015 annual report book

Volume 6363

1.  First Mennonite Church bulletins (2016)

2. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2017)

3. First Mennonite Church bulletins (2018)