Rosthern Mennonite Church (Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada)
The Rosthern Mennonite congregation began services in 1893, and formally organized in 1894. The founder of the Rosenorter Church was Peter Regier (1851-1925). He had been appointed Ältester (bishop) in 1887 in Prussia and emigrated to Tiefengrund, Saskatchewan in 1893, where the Rosenorter Churchwas were founded in 1894.
The first meeting house of this Church was built in Eigenheim in 1896. In 1897 the name Rosenorter Gemeinde (Rosenort Church Group) was chosen. In 1903 a meeting house was built in Rosthern. In 1909 there were enough families to divide the Church into districts, one of which was Rosthern. In 1912 the congregation built a bigger meeting house in Rosthern. In 1929 an attempt was made to give more independence to the congregations of this multi-congregational church. In 1948 the meeting house was enlarged.
In 1954 the Rosenort church group divided into two parts because of its unwieldy size. The groups were known as the Rosenort Mennonite Church (Tiefengrund, Garthland, Capasin, Hague, Hochfeld, Neuanlage and Aberdeen) and the United Mennonite Church of Saskatchewan (Rosthern, Osler, Laird and Horse Lake.) These multi-congregational churches dissolved in 1962 and the Rosthern Mennonite Church became truly independent. The membership was 400 in 1963. In 1964 they completed a new meeting house. The membership stayed at around 400 for the next twenty years and then declined when another congregation was begun in Rosthern.
In 1965 there were 413 members; in 1975, 416; in 1985, 390; in 1995, 313; in 2000, 300. The congregation has been affiliated with Mennonite Church Saskatchewan (1960-), the Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1903-) and the General Conference Mennonite Church (1908-1999). The language of worship is English; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.
Leaders of the congregation have included The leaders of the congregation were: Peter Regier (1984-1925), David Toews (1913-1947), Johann Dueck (1930-1950), Gerhard Epp (1930-1950), I. I. Friesen (1930-1939), Isaac P. Friesen (1930-1943), Johann Rempel (1931-1955), Isaac Epp (1941, 1948), Jacob Gerbrandt (1945-1947), Peter Koop (1946-1978), Heinrich Klassen (1946-1958), J. C. Schmidt (1946-1963), Henry Zacharias (1960-1966), Henry Funk (1962-1973), Edward Enns (1962-1964), Paul Schroeder (1964-1967), Leonard Enns (1969-1970), Waldemar Regier (1971-1977), Died Gerbrandt (1979-1984), Rudy Froese (1985-1996), Craig Friesen (1997- ).
The congregation's address is Box, 519, 3016 5 St., Rosthern, SK, S0K 3R0. (306) 232-5577.
Bibliography
Mennonite Encyclopedia, "Rosenort."
Rempel, J. G. Die Rosenorter Gemeinde in Saskatchewan. 1950, 183 pp.
Heese, Justina. "Our Church Family History." Unpublished typescript, 1978, 33 pp. Mennonite Historical Society of Canada collection, Mennonite Archives of Ontario.
Records at Mennonite Heritage Centre - Rosthern Mennonite Church fonds
Additional Information
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
To cite this page:
MLA style: Epp, Marlene. "Rosthern Mennonite Church (Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 1989. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/R678.html>
APA style: Epp, Marlene. (February 1989). "Rosthern Mennonite Church (Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 May 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/R678.html>
