United Mennonite Church (Black Creek, British Columbia, Canada)
Mennonites first came to Black Creek in 1932 when Henry H. Schulz arrived with his family from Alberta on 18 October. Other families followed, and together they cleared the land of stumps and brush, planting strawberries and eventually developing dairy farms. To supplement their income, men found employment with logging companies, pulp mills, and saw mills, and some of the women found employment in the Comox Hospital.
In 1937 a group of Mennonites who had been meeting in homes and the school decided to formally organize as a congregation with 34 members under the leadership of Henry H. Schulz. At the same time, the decision was made to build a church. Bil Halbe donated the land for the church and also donated land for the cemetery and school (now Halbe Hall) for a total of three acres. Elder Jacob H. Janzen helped to raise funds for the church, collecting half of the $200 needed for the construction of the 24 ft. by 36 ft. building. The foundation was laid 24 March 1937 and Rev. Janzen dedicated it in the Fall when he arrived. Jacob Brucks who came to Black Creek in 1936 became the first lay minister at the United Mennonite Church, leading meetings, reading sermons, and teaching Sunday School. In 1939 Nickolai N. Friesen came to serve the church at their request. During his first two years, Friesen taught students at a winter Bible school.
During the war years many Mennonites went into the Alternative Service Programme for Conscientious Objectors. Due to the close proximity of many of these camps to Black Creek, the congregation became involved in ministry to them. N. N. Friesen ministered to them on many occasions.
In 1954 N. N. Friesen moved to Aldergrove, and the search for a new minister began. In 1953 A. A. Harder came from Abbotsford for four months but returned. Walter Dirks was then called for a year of trial-preaching. On 4 August 1954 Dirks was approved by the congregation. The congregation sponsored a Sunday school mission at Oyster Bay where a mission chapel was built in 1957.
In the early 1960s the church was again without a pastor, so they called Gerhard I. Peters of Chilliwack to come to Black Creek on weekends. He did this for two and a half years, making at least 100 trips and visiting 156 homes. In 1963 new church was built, dedicated 15 December. In 1969 a manse was completed. Also in 1969 Pastor Jacob Schimdt introduced a brief English services before normal Sunday morning worship. In 1970 English services were regular.
Over the years the congregation had a difficult time finding pastors. Conference leaders helped out on occasion during several long intervals between pastors, but this was not ideal. Stability was attained with the coming of Peter Neudorf in 1985.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (10 January 1958): 5.
Churches in Profile. Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1978: 13-15.
Koop, A. B., ed. United Mennonite Church: Black Creek, BC, 1937-1987. Black Creek, BC: United Mennonite Church, 1987.
Lehn, Cornelia. Frontier Challenge: A Story of the Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia. Clearbrook, BC: Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1990: 16-17, 110-111.
Mennonite Reporter (20 February 1989): 12; (13 October 1994): 12.
Stobbe, Ben. "The Way We Were: Settling in Black Creek." Roots and Branches: Newsletter of the Mennonite Historical Society of BC 10, no. 1 (April 2004). http://www.mhsbc.com/news/2004/2004v10n1.htm (accessed 19 May 2008).
Stobbe, Ben. "The Way We Were: Settling in Black Creek: Part 2, The Establishment and Development of Mennonite Churches." Roots and Branches: Newsletter of the Mennonite Historical Society of BC 10, no.2 (September 2004). http://www.mhsbc.com/news/2004/2004v10n2.htm (accessed 19 May 2008).
Archival Records:
Mennonite Heritage Centre: United Mennonite Church (Black Creek, B.C.) fonds.
Additional Information
Address: 2277 Enns Rd., Black Creek BC V9J 1H7
Phone: 250-337-5341
Denominational Affiliations:
Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia / Mennonite Church British Columbia
Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada
General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1999)
United Mennonite Church Leading Ministers
| Minister |
Years |
|---|---|
| Jacob Brucks | 1936-1939 |
| Nickolai N. Friesen |
1939-1954 |
| Walter Dirks |
1954-1959 |
| Gerhard I. Peters | 1961-1963 |
| Jacob Enns |
1963-1968 |
| Jacob Schmidt |
1968-1970 |
| Abraham B. Koop |
1970-1977 |
| Steve Dick |
1978-1979 |
| Nick Dyck |
1979-1982 |
| Paul Koehler |
1983-1984 |
| Peter Neudorf |
1985-1994 |
| Tanell & Marvin Wirzba | 1995-2000 |
| Abraham Buhler |
2002-2004 |
| Peter Neudorf |
2004-2007 |
| Steve Isaac |
2007-present |
United Mennonite Church Membership
| Year |
Members |
|---|---|
| 1936 | 34 |
| 1940 | 20 |
| 1947 | 32 |
| 1949 | 54 |
| 1952 | 65 |
| 1959 | 83 |
| 1965 | 54 |
| 1970 | 38 |
| 1975 | 82 |
| 1980 | 52 |
| 1985 | 51 |
| 1990 | 74 |
| 1995 | 93 |
| 2000 | 73 |
| 2005 | 75 |
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 351. 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: Goerz, John A. and Richard D. Thiessen. "United Mennonite Church (Black Creek, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2008. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 04 December 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/U564ME.htm>
APA style: Goerz, John A. and Richard D. Thiessen. (May 2008). "United Mennonite Church (Black Creek, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 04 December 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/U564ME.htm>
