First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)
Saskatoon First Mennonite Church had its beginning with the coming of the Mennonites from the Soviet Union after World War I. Mennonites who settled in Saskatoon were at first served occasionally by visiting ministers and students at the university beginning in 1924. It began primarily as an urban mission, specifically a Mennonite Girls' Home for young women working in the city. The first English Sunday School class began in 1936. In 1930 Jacob John "J.J." Thiessen was stationed here by the Home Mission Board. In 1932 a congregation was organized as a branch of the Rosenort Mennonite Church of Saskatchewan and Thiessen was ordained as minister. A new church was dedicated on 18 October 1936, with subsequent building programs in 1957 and 1990. In 1937 the congregation was reorganized as an independent church, and in 1938 Thiessen was ordained as its elder. The congregation began the Pleasant Hill and Mayfair mission centers; the latter became first known as the Mayfair Mennonite Mission Church and later as Cornerstone Church.
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| J.J. Thiessen (seated) and N.W. Dick were pastors at First Mennonite in 1960. Canadian Mennonite photo. |
In 1950 there were 288 members; in 1957, 348; in 1965, 505; in 1975, 434; in 1985, 369; in 1995, 253; in 2000, 218; in 2005, 202. The congregation has been affiliated with Mennonite Church Saskatchewan (1959- ), the Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1938- ) and the General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1999). The language of worship is English and German; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.
The leaders of the congregation were: J. J. Thiessen (1930-1977), Jakob Gerbrandt (1947-1971), David Penner (1951-1962), Gerhard Wiens (1960-1969), N. N. Dick (1959-1961), Abram Martens (1962-1978), Menno Nickel (1965-1971), Abram Warkentin (1966-1978), Edward Enns (1963-1971), Henry Wiens (1971-1983), Henry Reimer (1984-1994), Arnie Fehderau (1996- ).
Location: 418 Queen St., Saskatoon, SK, S7K 0M3. (306) 244-6772.
Bibliography
Mennonite Encyclopedia, "Saskatoon"
Mennonite Reporter (19 April 1982): 11; (21 September 1992): B3; (5 September 1994): 2; (3 October 1994): 12.
Ens, Marg. "History of the First Mennonite Church in Saskatoon." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1958, 9 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre
Dyck, John H. and Alvin P. Schellenberg, eds., First Mennonite Church, Queen St. and Fifth Avenue, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatoon, Sask.: First Mennonite Church, 1973, 74 pp.
Patkau, Esther. "J.J. Thiessen's Ministry in Saskatoon." M.Div thesis, Saskatoon Lutheran Theological Seminary, 1979, 252 pp.
Patkau, Esther. First Mennonite Church in Saskatoon, 1923-1982. Saskatoon, Sask.: First Mennonite Church, 1982, 319 pp.
Krahn, Kim. "Anatomy of an Upheaval." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1985. Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Church records at Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 427. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Thiessen, Jacob J. and Marlene Epp. "First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 1989. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 06 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F567.html>
APA style: Thiessen, Jacob J. and Marlene Epp. (February 1989). "First Mennonite Church (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 06 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F567.html>
