Identity area
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Title
Date(s)
- 1907-1965 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
65 cm of textual records
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Name of creator
Administrative history
The Rosenorter Mennonite Church was established by Mennonite immigrants from Prussia and Russia centred in Rosthern, with several worship centres scattered in Saskatchewan. On July 2, 1894 Elder Peter Regier, who had come from the Rosenort church in West Prussia in 1893 helped the congregation organize. In 1896 the first Rosenorter church building was dedicated in Eigenheim. It was rebuilt in 1902. The next year a building at Rosthern was completed. In 1920 churches were built in Aberdeen (on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River), Laird and Tiefengrund. In 1911 Hague built a church. All belonged to the Rosenorter congregation.
In 1913 David Toews was elected as Elder. In 1929 Johannes Regier, son of Peter Regier, was elected as elder to assist David Toews. Toews was commonly referred to as a bishop by the government and daily newspapers.
Eigenheim became independent in 1929. First Mennonite church in Saskatoon was an affiliate member of the Rosenorter church from 1932 to 1937 and then became independent in 1938. Churches were also established at Hochfeld and Neuanlage. The Osler church joined the Rosenorter Church in 1931. Capasin built a church in 1933. Garthland and Horse Lake also became part of Rosenorter Church. In September 1946, Johann G. Rempel was elected as elder.
In 1954 the Rosenorter Church divided into two parts because of its unwieldy size. The groups were known as the Rosenorter Mennonite Church (Tiefengrund, Garthland, Capasin, Hague, Hochfeld, Neuanlage and Aberdeen) and the United Mennonite Church of Saskatchewan (Rosthern, Osler, Laird and Horse Lake.) Elders Arthur Regier and Jacob C. Schmidt were ordained in 1954 by John G. Rempel to serve these groups. These congregations eventually formed the Conference of Mennonites of Saskatchewan.
The Rosenorter Mennonite Church was significant as the senior General Conference Mennonite Church in Saskatchewan whose leadership had major roles in the broader efforts in immigration, education and conference formation. It also was a founding member of what became the Conference of Mennonites in Canada.
The Rosenorter Mennonite Church as a multi-congregational church dissolved in 1962.
Repository
Archival history
This collection was transferred to the Conference of Mennonites in Canada Archives by the Tiefengrund Rosenorter Mennonite Church in 1975.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This fond includes church registers with information on member families and baptism (ca. 1900-1965); minute books of membership meetings (1917-1962), of minister' and deacons' meetings (1915-1962), and of sewing circle meetings (1955-1961); church records of the fellowship at Capasin, including minute books of its youth group (1933-1965) and the membership register of the group at Garthland; and Elder Peter Regier's guestbook (1907-1937). There are also records from the Tiefengrund district of the Church (1933-1956).
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Language and script notes
Mostly in German hand-written Gothic script.
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Inventory file list
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Sources
Rempel, John G. and Richard D. Thiessen. Rosenort Mennonite Church Group (Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2012. Web. 15 Jul 2020.