[checked revision]

Revision as of 16:07, 26 September 2014

Rev. Peter J. Klassen during construction of the Superb Mennonite Church, 1944.
Source: Lois Siemens.

Superb Mennonite Church, 2014.
Source: Lois Siemens

One hundred and thirty miles west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on a spur line of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that runs south west of Kerrobert, Saskatchewan lay the little hamlet of Superb. Here in 1927-1928, through the efforts of the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization, 10 Mennonite families, all immigrants from Russia, took up land on what was known as the “Exel” or “XL” farms. The first family arrived on 5 January 1927, Rev. Peter J. Klassen, his wife, and six children, (four children came later). The second family arrived in November 1927, Mrs. Helena Janzen, her six children, and her mother, Mrs. Wiens. All of the other families arrived in March 1928. They were: Katherine and Jacob Wiebe, Sr. with seven children (plus one born later); Anna and Peter Epp with 2 children; Susanna and Kornelius Peters with five children (plus two born later); Rudolph Friesen; Sarah and Henry Epp with two children (plus six born later); Marie and Peter Heinrichs with 3 children; Mr. & Mrs. Peter Siemens; Annie Siemens; Susie Siemens; Henry Wiebe (Peter Siemens' hired help); Mr. & Mrs. Jacob Hooge with five children (plus one born later).

The group began Sunday worship immediately, taking turns hosting the service in their homes. Twenty miles north of Superb at Luseland, a few more Mennonite families took up land in 1928-29 under the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization. These families were: Rev. Peter A. and Helen Warkentin with 10 children; Mr. and Mrs. John Ewert with 4 children; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Poetker with 7 children; Maria and Peter Penner with 2 children; Grandmother Marie Lehn who lived with the Penners; David Unger who shared the farm with Peter Penner.

Peter A. Warkentin organized the Luseland group for worship. The two groups met as often as they could for joint worship as travel was difficult in those days. Once travel eased with more vehicles the two groups banded together and built a church in 1944, which was dedicated in 1945. The cost to build was $1,906.87, not including all the volunteer labor. Since only an Elder could perform baptism and communion, early on the group joined the Ebenfeld church group (Gemeinde) with Elder Wiens at Herschel. The other churches in the Gemeinde were at Fiske, and Glidden. They had annual meetings and a picnic. The Gemeinde disbanded in 1972 and in 1973 the congregation at Superb officially became Superb Mennonite Church.

The transition from German to English was slow. One catalyst was marriages to English girls who not only did not know German but wanted to sit on the men’s side with their new husbands. In 1967, the minutes from the annual meeting were read in English for the first time. It 1972 the decision was made to purchase half of the Adult Sunday School lesson books in English.

In 1932, Rev. Peter J. Klassen organized a mixed choir consisting of ten voices, teaching them to sing in harmony according to numbers on the scale instead of notes (Ziffern). Music continued to be a highlight of the congregation. Eileen Klaassen began a men’s choir around 1978 which sang for a few decades. Since 2001 the mixed choir is known as “Simply Superb.” During Grant Martens’ ministry (2001-2006) the choir performed Wheatbelt Gospel, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Wheatbelt Parables, and Godspell in 2011.

Bibliography

Author(s)	Lois Siemens
Date Published	September 2014

Mennonite Reporter (25 June 1984): 14.

Siemens, Lois. "Superb Mennonite." Personal e-mail (25 June 2014).

Additional Information

Address: Box 353, Kerrobert SK S0L 1R0

Location: church is located 24 km west of Kerrobert, 1.5 km south of Hwy. 51

Telephone: 306-834-2850

Website: Superb Mennonite Church

Denominational Affiliations:

Mennonite Church Saskatchewan

Mennonite Church Canada

Superb Mennonite Church Ministers

Minister	Years
Peter J. Klassen	1928-1948
P. A. Warkentin	1934-1974
Werner Zacharias	1974-1986
David Feick	1986-1994
Eileen Wiebe	1994-1999
Grant Martens	2001-2006
Lois Siemens	2006-present

Superb Mennonite Church Membership

Year	Members
1965	79
1975	42
1985	52
1995	46
2000	50
2010	39

Maps

Map:Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan)

Cite This Article

MLA style

Siemens, Lois. "Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2014. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Superb_Mennonite_Church_(Kerrobert,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=125365.

APA style

Siemens, Lois. (September 2014). Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Superb_Mennonite_Church_(Kerrobert,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=125365.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 [[File:SuperbMennoniteChurch2.jpg|300px|thumbnail|''Superb Mennonite Church, 2014. <br />
 Source: Lois Siemens'']]
-The Superb Mennonite congregation near Kerrebert, Saskatchewan began services in 1928. The first building was occupied in 1944. [[Klassen, Peter J. (1889-1953)|Peter J. Klassen]] is considered the founding leader of the group. The congregation originated through immigration from the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]]. Superb was formerly part of the [[Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church (Herschel, Saskatchewan, Canada)|Ebenfeld]] church group. In 1972 the church group was dissolved and in 1973, the Superb Mennonite Church became an independent congregation.
-In 2011 the church served the communities of Kerrobert, Kindersley, Luseland and Major.
+One hundred and thirty miles west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on a spur line of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that runs south west of Kerrobert, Saskatchewan lay the little hamlet of Superb. Here in 1927-1928, through the efforts of the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization, 10 Mennonite families, all immigrants from Russia, took up land on what was known as the “Exel” or “XL” farms. The first family arrived on 5 January 1927, Rev. Peter J. Klassen, his wife, and six children, (four children came later). The second family arrived in November 1927, Mrs. Helena Janzen, her six children, and her mother, Mrs. Wiens. All of the other families arrived in March 1928. They were: Katherine and Jacob Wiebe, Sr. with seven children (plus one born later); Anna and Peter Epp with 2 children; Susanna and Kornelius Peters with five children (plus two born later); Rudolph Friesen; Sarah and Henry Epp with two children (plus six born later); Marie and Peter Heinrichs with 3 children; Mr. & Mrs. Peter Siemens; Annie Siemens; Susie Siemens; Henry Wiebe (Peter Siemens' hired help); Mr. & Mrs. Jacob Hooge with five children (plus one born later).
+The group began Sunday worship immediately, taking turns hosting the service in their homes. Twenty miles north of Superb at Luseland, a few more Mennonite families took up land in 1928-29 under the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization. These families were: Rev. Peter A. and Helen Warkentin with 10 children; Mr. and Mrs. John Ewert with 4 children; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Poetker with 7 children; Maria and Peter Penner with 2 children; Grandmother Marie Lehn who lived with the Penners; David Unger who shared the farm with Peter Penner.
+Peter A. Warkentin organized the Luseland group for worship. The two groups met as often as they could for joint worship as travel was difficult in those days. Once travel eased with more vehicles the two groups banded together and built a church in 1944, which was dedicated in 1945. The cost to build was $1,906.87, not including all the volunteer labor. Since only an Elder could perform baptism and communion, early on the group joined the [[Herschel Ebenfeld Mennonite Church (Herschel, Saskatchewan, Canada)|Ebenfeld]] church group (''Gemeinde'') with Elder Wiens at Herschel. The other churches in the ''Gemeinde'' were at Fiske, and Glidden. They had annual meetings and a picnic. The ''Gemeinde'' disbanded in 1972 and in 1973 the congregation at Superb officially became Superb Mennonite Church.
+The transition from German to English was slow. One catalyst was marriages to English girls who not only did not know German but wanted to sit on the men’s side with their new husbands. In 1967, the minutes from the annual meeting were read in English for the first time. It 1972 the decision was made to purchase half of the Adult Sunday School lesson books in English.
+In 1932, Rev. [[Klassen, Peter J. (1889-1953)|Peter J. Klassen]] organized a mixed choir consisting of ten voices, teaching them to sing in harmony according to numbers on the scale instead of notes (Ziffern). Music continued to be a highlight of the congregation. Eileen Klaassen began a men’s choir around 1978 which sang for a few decades. Since 2001 the mixed choir is known as “Simply Superb.” During Grant Martens’ ministry (2001-2006) the choir performed ''Wheatbelt Gospel'', ''Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Wheatbelt Parables'', and ''Godspell'' in 2011.
 = Bibliography =
 <em class="gameo_bibliography">Mennonite Reporter </em>(25 June 1984): 14.
@@ Line 82: / Line 90: @@
 = Maps =
 [[Map:Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan)|Map:Superb Mennonite Church (Kerrobert, Saskatchewan)]]
-{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=June 2014|a1_last=Epp|a1_first=Marlene|a2_last=Thiessen|a2_first=Richard D.}}
+{{GAMEO_footer|hp=|date=September 2014|a1_last=Siemens|a1_first=Lois|a2_last=|a2_first=}}
 [[Category:Churches]]
 [[Category:Canadian Congregations]]

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