North Star Mennonite Church (Drake, Saskatchewan, Canada)
The North Star congregation at Drake, SK began services in 1905, and formally organized on 6 February 1906. The first building was occupied in 1907, with subsequent building programs in 1928 and 1956. John Gerbrandt is considered the founding leader of the group. The congregation originated through immigration from the Johannesthal and Bruderthal churches in Kansas and Alva, Oklahoma. Gerbrandt had been elder of the Johannesthal congregation. The first years services were held in John Gerbrandt's home.
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.
In 1950 there were 251 members; in 1965, 240; in 1975, 280; in 1985, 271; in 1995, 268; in 2000, 255. 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.
The leaders of the congregation have included: 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- ).
Box 10, Drake, SK, S0K 1H0. (306) 363-2125. Located at 204 Francis St.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (8 June 1965): 4.
Mennonite Reporter (22 January 1973): 13; (16 March 1981): 4.
Bergen, John W. "A History of the Drake Mennonite Church." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1956, 27 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Laskowskik, Gordon. Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New . Autobiography, Drake: 252-253.
Drake Past and Present: Making Memories. Drake, SK,1987, 25-30.
Records kept at the church and local credit union.
Archives also located at Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Additional Information
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Gerbrandt, Jacob and Marlene Epp. "North Star Mennonite Church (Drake, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 1989. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/N67776ME.html>
APA style: Gerbrandt, Jacob and Marlene Epp. (May 1989). "North Star Mennonite Church (Drake, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/N67776ME.html>
