North Star Mennonite Church (Drake, Saskatchewan, Canada)
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| North Star Mennonite Church, Drake, SK Source: Mennonite Church Saskatchewan website |
The North Star congregation at Drake, Saskatchewan began services in 1905, and formally organized on 6 February 1906 under the leadership of John Gerbrandt with 20 charter members who had immigrated to Canada the year previously and the Johannesthal and Bruderthal churches in Kansas and Alva, Oklahoma. Gerbrandt had been elder of the Johannesthal congregation, and was elected to the same office in his new charge. In 1906 H. H. Bartel, also of the Johannesthal congregation, became the assistant minister. The first year's services were held in John Gerbrandt's home. The first building was occupied in 1907, with subsequent building programs in 1928 and 1956.
The congregation was also known as Nordstern Mennonite Church. For a time the congregation held separate services in two locations, in the building four miles west of Drake and also in the village when an additional building was erected in 1928. This was discontinued when a new building was constructed in Drake in 1956. This meeting house was expanded again in 1988 with an education wing.
The congregation has been affiliated with Mennonite Church Saskatchewan, Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1908-) and the General Conference Mennonite Church (1911-1999). The language of worship is English; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.
Bibliography
Bergen, John W. "A History of the Drake Mennonite Church." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1956, 27 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Canadian Mennonite (8 June 1965): 4.
Drake Past and Present: Making Memories. Drake, SK,1987, 25-30.
Laskowskik, Gordon. Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New . Autobiography, Drake: 252-253.
Mennonite Reporter (22 January 1973): 13; (16 March 1981): 4.
Archival Records
Archives located at Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Records kept at the church and local credit union.
Additional Information
Address: Box 10, Drake, SK S0K 1H0
Location: 204 Francis Street, Drake, Saskatchewan
Phone: 306-363-2125
Denominational Affiliations:
North Star Mennonite Church Ministers
| Minister |
Years |
|---|---|
| John Gerbrandt | 1906-1926 |
| Henry Bartel | 1926-1941 |
| Jacob Gerbrandt | 1940-1944 |
| Edwin Bartel | 1926-1981 |
| Jacob Heinrichs | 1940-1953 |
| Wesley Ewert | 1943-1944 |
| Paul Schroeder | 1943-1964 |
| Ferd Ediger | 1949-1985 |
| Abe Neufeld | 1949-1953 |
| Jacob Friesen | 1949-1952 |
| John Friesen | 1950-1952 |
| Bernie Retzlaff | 1964-1966 |
| Isaac Epp | 1964-1965 |
| Henry Penner | 1966-1970 1990-1995 |
| Henry Funk | 1971-1986 1988-1995 |
| Herman Wiebe | 1986-1999 |
| Ken Quiring | 2000-2005 |
| Harold
Peters Fransen (interim) |
2005-2006 |
| Audrey Mierau Bechtel (transitional) | 2007-2007 |
| Emily Toews | 2007-present |
North Star Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 251 |
| 1965 | 240 |
| 1975 |
280 |
| 1985 |
271 |
| 1995 |
268 |
| 2000 |
255 |
| 2010 |
157 |
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 922. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
©1996-2012 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
MLA style: Gerbrandt, Jacob and Marlene Epp. "North Star Mennonite Church (Drake, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2010. Web. 13 February 2012. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/N67776ME.html.
APA style: Gerbrandt, Jacob and Marlene Epp. (July 2010). North Star Mennonite Church (Drake, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 February 2012, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/N67776ME.html.
