Yarrow United Mennonite Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)
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| Yarrow United Mennonite Church, Chilliwack, BC Source: D. Giesbrecht |
The Yarrow United Mennonite Church in Yarrow (now a part of Chilliwack), British Columbia began services in 1928 when the first Mennonites moved to the area. The initial group of 21 individuals gathered for worship in various homes. In the early years Yarrow United Mennonite was a branch of the First Mennonite Church Greendale congregation.
The congregation formally organized on 25 October 1938 with the assistance of N. W. Bahnmann from Coghlan. J. J. Klassen became the first pastor of the church. The first building was occupied in 1938. The congregation grew rapidly in the late 1940s and early 1950s due to a major influx of Mennonites and others from Russia and West Prussia after World War II. While a number of these families moved away to larger cities after a few years, the increased numbers led to the construction of a new church in 1959.
The lack of work opportunities in more recent years has resulted in a reduction of members from a high of 210 members in the 1950s to 63 in 2010.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (24 November 1961): 12.
Churches in Profile. Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1978: 109-113.
Kehler, Peter. "The History of the General Conference Church at Yarrow, British Columbia." Research paper, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1951, 28 pp. Mennonite Heritage Centre.
Klassen, Agatha E., ed. Yarrow: a Portrait in Mosaic. Yarrow, BC, 1976. 124 pp.
Lehn, Cornelia. Frontier Challenge: A Story of the Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia. Clearbrook, BC: Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia, 1990.
Yarrow United Mennonite Church 25th Anniversary booklet, 1938-1963.
Additional Information
Address: 4336 Eckert Road, Chilliwack BC V2R 5J5
Phone: 604-823-4451
Denominational Affiliations:
Mennonite Church British Columbia (1939-present)
Conference of Mennonites in Canada / Mennonite Church Canada (1939-present)
General Conference Mennonite Church (1938-1999)
Yarrow United Mennonite Church Pastors
| Pastor | Years |
|---|---|
| John J. Klassen | 1938-1957 |
| Peter W. Dyck | 1957-1970 |
| Henry Claassen | 1970-1979 |
| Henry T. Klassen (interim) | 1979 |
| Henry H. Epp | 1979-1982 |
| Arnold Fast | 1982-1986 |
| John Unrau | 1986-1989 |
| Dan Rempel | 1989-2000 |
| Ron Braun | 2000-2007 |
| Barry Lesser |
2007-present |
Yarrow United Mennonite Membership
| Year |
Membership |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 152 |
| 1959 |
174 |
| 1965 | 189 |
| 1975 | 110 |
| 1985 | 103 |
| 1995 | 96 |
| 2006 | 77 |
| 2010 |
63 |
©1996-2010 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
MLA style: Klassen, John J. and Hugo Friesen. "Yarrow United Mennonite Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2010. Web. 01 August 2010. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/Y3773ME.html.
APA style: Klassen, John J. and Hugo Friesen. (July 2010). Yarrow United Mennonite Church (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 01 August 2010, from http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/Y3773ME.html.
