Coaldale Mennonite Brethren Church (Coaldale, Alberta, Canada)
2114-18th St., Coaldale, AB, T1M 1G2. (403) 345-3636. Pastor Lorne Willms served in 2000 as a salaried congregational leader. (Pastors have been salaried since 1957.) In 1950 there were 602 members; in 1965, 467; in 1985, 366; in 1995 345; in 2000, 335. The congregation has been affiliated with the Alberta Mennonite Brethren Conference, the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Church and the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The language of worship is English and German; the transition from German began in the 1960s.
The congregation began services and formally organized on May 23, 1926. Initially there was very rapid growth due to immigration from the Soviet Union. In 1928 the first church was built, but it proved too small from the beginning. Additions were completed in 1929 and 1932. By 1939 it was necessary to build a new and still larger structure with a seating capacity of 1000. The pace of immigration declined and members began to move to British Columbia or Ontario. Another building was erected in 1971.
Klaas Enns is considered the founding leader of the group. Other leaders have included Frank Friesen, B. B. Janz, David Klassen, J. A. Toews, A. Dueck, A. Epp, A. P. Willms, H. Kornelsen and J. J. Unger.
Coaldale is the first Mennonite Brethren church in Alberta, as well as the largest and most prominent. The Mennonite Brethren established a Bible school at Coaldale in 1929 and a private high school in 1946. The congregation also founded the Coaldale hospital in 1934.
The 1939 building became a museum in 1995 to house artifacts related to the history of the town of Coaldale.
Bibliography
Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 4; (30 June 1995): 20.
Esau, Frieda. "The Coaldale MB Church: A Brief History." MB Historical Society of Canada Newsletter (Jan. 1981).
Gedenk und Dankfeier des 25-Jaehrigen Bestehens der Coaldale Mennoniten Brueder Gemeinde am 27. Mai 1951. 1951.
Toews, John A. A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church: Pilgrims and Pioneers. 1975: 165-166.
Fiftieth Anniversary of the Coaldale Mennonite Brethren Church, May 23, 1976. 1976, 52 pp.
Toews, John B. With Courage to Spare. Hillsboro, KS, 1978.
Penner, Peter. No Longer at Arm's Length: Mennonite Brethren Church Planting in Canada. Winnipeg, MB: Kindred Press,1987, 178 pp.
Church records at Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies.
Additional Information
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Janz, J. B. and Marlene Epp. "Coaldale Mennonite Brethren Church (Coaldale, Alberta, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 1986. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C62ME.html>
APA style: Janz, J. B. and Marlene Epp. (July 1986). "Coaldale Mennonite Brethren Church (Coaldale, Alberta, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C62ME.html>
