Ebenezar Mennonite Brethren Church (Rush Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)
The Ebenezar Mennonite Brethren Church was started near Rush Lake, Saskatchewan around 1910. Abraham and Margaretha Dahlke donated 2.87 acres of land for the construction of a church and cemetery. The congregation had a reported membership of 43 in 1912.
Franz Janzen was the leader of this congregation from 1914–1923, followed by Daniel Schindel (1934–1926), Johan J Kroeker (1927–1929), Gerhard D. Rempel (1930–1931) and G.P. Dyck (1934–1938). The membership of this congregation peaked in 1920 with a reported membership of 61. During most of the 1930s the reported membership in the Northern District (Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches) annual yearbooks was constant at 10. For some years no leaders were listed and no representation was present at the annual conferences.
When this congregation officially closed is not clear. The last entry in the financial ledger (only extant item from this church) is dated 1943. According to a report by John Gunther in the Zionbote (9 Feb. 1944, p.7) written on January 20, 1944, the group was still meeting for prayer and Bible Study on every other Sunday and they were glad that minister J. J. Kroeker (presumably from the Bethania MB Church) "had not left them as orphans."
When the church closed in ca. 1947, members transferred to the congregations in Main Centre, Herbert, Greenfarm, and Bethania.
The church cemetery still exists with 17 identified grave markers.
Bibliography
Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies. "Ebenezar Mennonite Brethren Church – Rush Lake, SK." Web. 8 July 2019. https://cmbs.mennonitebrethren.ca/inst_records/ebenezar-mb-church-rush-lake-sk/.
"Ebenezar Mennonite Brethren Church (Rush Lake, SK)." Mennonite Historian XXXI, No. 2 (June 2005): 6.
Additional Information
Denominational Affiliations:
Saskatchewan Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
| Author(s) | Richard D Thiessen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2019 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Thiessen, Richard D. "Ebenezar Mennonite Brethren Church (Rush Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2019. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ebenezar_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Rush_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=164431.
APA style
Thiessen, Richard D. (August 2019). Ebenezar Mennonite Brethren Church (Rush Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ebenezar_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Rush_Lake,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=164431.
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