Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1901-2011, predominant 1925-2011 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
57 cm of textual records;
4 photographs
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Mennonites from Russia arrived in the Herschel area in the winter of 1924-1925. They organized their congregation in 1925 as the Ebenfeld Mennonite Church and joined the Conference of Mennonites. In 1926 there were 117 members. In 1927 they built a meeting house. In 1936 the membership was 278. A number of different meeting places were begun over the next decades. In 1945 a new meeting house was built in Superb, one of the four meeting houses of this 'Gemeinde'. The other meeting places were Fiske and Glidden, along with Herschel. These were divided into four congregations in 1958 but still of the Ebenfeld 'Gemeinde'. In 1973 these congregations became independent congregations. In 1980 the Ebenfeld congregation changed its name to the current (2001) Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church. The leaders of the congregation were: Jacob Wiens (1925-1939), J. J. Thiessen (1939-1942)[visiting], Cornelius J. Warkentin (1943-1957) [and he remained bishop of the four congregations (1958-1970)]. Of the four congregations then from 1958 on, the leader of Herschel was the bishop Cornelius Warkentin (1958-1964), Arthur Wiens (1965-1985), David Neufeld (1986-1999), Claire and Garth Ewert-Fischer (2000- ). The leader of Fiske was K. Julius Martens (1958-1985). The leader of Glidden was C. J. Fast (1958-1970), when the congregation dissolved. The leader of Superb was P.A. Warkentin (1958-1973). Since 1990 the leader of Herschel has also been the leader in Fiske.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This fonds consist of immigration documents, church membership transfers, congregational bulletins and minutes, financial records, and sermons. These records follow the Mennonites as they immigrated from Russia to Canada, their transition in Canada from Ontario to Saskatchewan and the formation of a congregation. Once established the church flourished but began to reduce in size along with urbanization of the rural population in the 1960s. In 2019 four photos depicting the building of the church in 1927 were donated (see photo collection 728).
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
Mostly English with some German
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Inventory file list
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
2007-033, 2019-002, 2017-049.
Alternative identifier(s)
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Subject access points
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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 Bert Friesen 8 November 2001, updated by Conrad Stoesz November 2, 2012, February 20, 2019, and by Andrew Klassen Brown in May 2020.