Fonds ORG - First Mennonite Church (Winnipeg) fonds

Identity area

Reference code

CA MHC ORG

Title

First Mennonite Church (Winnipeg) fonds

Date(s)

  • 1929-2018 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

106 cm of textual records
7 microfilm reels

Context area

Name of creator

(1926-)

Administrative history

First Mennonite Church (Winnipeg) traces its beginning to the founding of the Schönwieser Mennoniten Gemeinde in Manitoba in 1926.

As early as 1907 Ältester Benjamin Ewert of Altona had provided spiritual services to Mennonites living in Winnipeg. He eventually moved to Winnipeg in 1921. With the increase of Mennonites in Winnipeg due to the 1920s migration from Russia, the Canadian conference asked Ältester Johann Klassen, one of these immigrants who lived in Starbuck, to minister to them as well. Soon these immigrants were the majority in this group and they organized in 1926 as the Schönwieser Mennoniten Gemeinde. The name Schönwieser came from the name of the congregation Ältester Klassen had led in the Chortitza Colony, South Russia. In 1929 Ältester Klassen moved to Winnipeg. During the early years this congregation met in rented facilities. A centre of activity was the Mädchenheim (girl's home). Then they met and later purchased the Zion Reformed Church building on Alexander Avenue. They built their own church building on Notre Dame and Alverston in 1950. This building was expanded in 1958 and 1983.

The congregation was instrumental in founding the Concordia Hospital, the Mennonitische Religionschule von Winnipeg, the Bethania Personal Care Home, and Westgate Mennonite Collegiate. The Schönwieser Mennoniten Gemeinde had many meeting places during the 1920s. Eventually seven congregations emerged out of this besides the First Mennonite Church, Winnipeg. The last of these was Oak Lake in 1971.

Archival history

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Content and structure area

Scope and content

This fonds contains congregational bulletins (1958-1998, 2012-2018), congregational directories (1947-1995); congregational newsletters - Gruess Gott (1940-1974), The Intercom (1976-2003), FMC's Newsletter (2004-2007), The Community Well (2007-2011); young people's newsletter, Das Blatt, (1951-1963), congregational annual reports (1930-1998), congregational meeting minutes (1930-1979), family, membership, baptismal, and marriage register (1929-1975), church council meeting minutes (1929-1978), minister's meeting minutes (1938-1964), congregational constitutions ([193?]-1978), several youth society programmes from the 1950s, choir members list (1975), a 1947 preaching schedule, correspondence with the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, governments, Bible schools, etc., Frauenverein (ladies society) minutes (1963-1980), and other miscellaneous papers. The records pertain to the beginning and development of a Mennonite congregation in the city of Winnipeg and they document who the leaders, members, and participants were.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

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Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

  • English
  • German

Script of material

Language and script notes

Much German

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Finding aids

Inventory file list

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Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

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Notes area

Note

The microfilming was done in three projects (ask about project nos. 17,21,43). The hard copies were donated over the years from the congregation.

Note

Acc. No. 2018-013

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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: 108-109). Re-described and updated by Bert Friesen 12 November 2001. Updated by Conrad Stoesz April 12, 2018. Updated by Selenna Wolfe 8 February 2019. Updated by Selenna Wolfe 11 May 2022.

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