Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1953-1981 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
3 meters of textual records.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
David P. Neufeld (1919-1982), minister and church administrator, was born in Russia to Peter and Anna Neufeld. He came to Canada with his parents in 1926. In 1931 the family moved to Rosemary, Alberta and farmed through the use of irrigation. David P. Neufeld married Helen Neufeld of Madison, Saskatchewan in 1942. David P. Neufeld was called as a minister at the age of 21 in Rosemary. He studied at the Winter Bible School in Rosemary and later received further theological training at Winkler Bible Institute, Mennonite Brethren Bible College in Winnipeg and Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. He taught Bible school at the Menno Bible Institute in Didsbury, Alberta and worked as a Sunday School teacher, youth worker and farmer-lay minister in Didsbury. From 1953-1955 he had an assignment with MCC in Germany working with refugees in Bremen and West Berlin. From 1955 to 1961, the family again lived in Didsbury where David continued to farm and be active in congregational and church conference activities. He was the chair of MCC Canada for 8 years, founding chairman of Mennonite Foundation, Moderator of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada and sat on various other committees and boards from 1950 to 1980. In 1961 the family moved to Winnipeg where he became the first Executive Secretary for the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, a position he held till 1967. From 1967 to 1977 he served as the pastor of the Bethany Mennonite Church at Virgil, Ontario, followed by a pastorate at Olivet Mennonite Church in Clearbrook, BC. He died in 1982 at the age of 62.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This collection contains reports, minutes and correspondence from many of the church organizations in which he served as a committee member such as Historic Peace Church Council of Canada (1957-1962), Mennonite Disaster Service (1961-1962), Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section (1956-1957), Mennonite Central Committee (1967-1971), Mennonite Central Committee (Canada) (1963-1973), Conference of Mennonites in Canada (1977-1980), General Conference Mennonite Church (1960-1962, 1965-1969), Mennonite Foundation (1970-1977), and Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (1970-1976); as well as minutes and reports from churches in which he served as minister: Rosemary Mennonite Church, Rosemary, Alberta (1960-1961); Bethel Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba (1960-1967); Bethany Mennonite Church, Virgil, Ontario (1967-1977); and Olivet Mennonite Church, Clearbrook, BC. There is also a collection of pamphlets on peace themes and a sermon based on Romans 5:6-11.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
First description updated by S Brown December 2002, updated by HR Fast May 2019.
Note
Accession numbers 1986-020, 1987-043, 1987-019, 1997-150, 2014-011.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- General Conference Mennonite Church (Subject)
- Conference of Mennonites in Canada (Subject)
- Bethel Mennonite Church (Winnipeg, Manitoba) (Subject)
- Bethany Mennonite Church (Virgil, Ontario) (Subject)
- Charleswood Mennonite Church (Winnipeg, Manitoba) (Subject)
- Mennonite Central Committee (Subject)
- Mennonite Central Committee Canada (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Described by Jake Peters in "Resources for Canadian Mennonite studies: an inventory guide to archival holdings at the Mennonite Heritage Centre" (1988: 124). Updated by S Brown December 2002, updated by HR Fast May 2019.