Gem Mennonite Brethren Church (Gem, Alberta, Canada)
The Gem Mennonite Brethren Church, located at Gem in central Alberta, had its beginning in November 1928, when 25 Mennonite families, immigrants from the Ukraine and Siberia, settled here, some of whom were the Mennonite Brethren, some Evangelical Mennonite Brethren, and some General Conference Mennonites. On 2 June 1929, the Mennonite Brethren congregation organized with 35 members and with H. K. Siemens as leader. They met in the school every Sunday for worship together with the members of the other two branches.
In 1932 a church was built, which was enlarged a few years later. In 1952-53, because of its unsatisfactory location and poor condition, it was sold and a new one was erected. An important milestone was the opening of the Bethesda Bible School on 12 November 1933, which with a few interruptions served until the mid-20th century. On 16 December 1934, P. P. Doerksen was chosen as leader of the congregation.
The membership in 1953 was 130. The congregation has continued to grow, in spite of the fact that the subsidiary congregation in Countess became an independent congregation in 1939, and many members went to British Columbia. In 1942 all the members of the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren congregation formally united with the M.B. congregation.Pastor John I. Block served as congregational leader in 2000. In 1965 there were 79 members; in 1985, 89; in 1993, 85; in 2000, 80. The congregation has been affiliated with the Alberta Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1929-), Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1929-), and General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1929-). The language of worship is English; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.
Bibliography
Mennonite Encyclopedia, "Gem."
Mennonite Brethren Herald (27 May 1988): 7.
Toews, John A. A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church: Pilgrims and Pioneers. Fresno, CA, 1975): 165-166.
Doerksen, J. P. Gem Mennonite Brethren Church Golden Jubilee Book. Gem, AB: Gem Mennonite Brethren Church, 1979, 110 pp.
Additional Information
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To cite this page:
MLA style: Siemens, H. H. and Marlene Epp. "Gem Mennonite Brethren Church (Gem, Alberta, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 1986. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 20 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/G451.html>
APA style: Siemens, H. H. and Marlene Epp. (July 1986). "Gem Mennonite Brethren Church (Gem, Alberta, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 20 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/G451.html>
