Linden Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Linden, Alberta, Canada)
The Linden Church of God in Christ, Mennonite congregation near Linden, Alberta, Canada was established in 1902. The congregation began when settlers from the United States began to move to the area in search of cheaper land. The Samuel Boese and Peter Giesbrecht families from Oregon first arrived in April 1902. Boese had been ordained as a minister by John Holdeman in 1893, so he provided immediate leadership for the fledgling congregation.
The first meetinghouse was constructed in 1904, enlarged in 1911, and enlarged again 1914. The congregation built a new church in 1920. By that time the also sponsored singing schools and Christian Endeavor programs. Later sewing circles and vacation Bible school programs began.
In the early 1990s, Linden aided colonization church planting, resulting in the Swalwell and Sunnyslope congregations.
Although many families moved to Crooked Creek, Alberta in 1928 and to British Columbia in the 1940s, a larger building was again built in 1951, and enlarged in 1973. A fire in 1996 caused extensive damage.
The Kneehill Christian School began in 1977 without necessary provincial approval. This led to truancy charges against 51 families. The test legal case, defended by the congregation without a hired lawyer, dragged into 1978 when the court ruled in favor of the church based on the Alberta Bill of Rights. The provincial education regulations were then changed to accommodate such parochial schools.
The Linden Nursing Home opened in June 1945. From 1945-1960 it also served as a maternity hospital for the area. A new nursing home was erected in 1963-64, and enlarged and remodeled in 1988-89.
In 2019 the congregation was part of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. The ministers were Bert Boese and Roland Toews; there were 182 members.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (17 November 1964): 1.
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. Yearbook (2019): 26.
Histories of the Congregations of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. Ste. Anne, Man.: Gospel Publishers, 1975.
Histories of the congregations. 3rd. ed. Moundridge, Kansas: Gospel Publishers, 1999: 45-53.
Additional Information
Location: 1 1/2 miles east of Linden
Phone: 403-546-3020
Denominational Affiliation:
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
Linden Congregation Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1955 | 368 |
| 1985 | 355 |
| 1996 | 215 |
| 2001 | 210 |
| 2010 | 194 |
| 2019 | 182 |
Ordained Pastors at the Linden Church of God in Christ, Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Samuel Boese (1857-1944) | 1902-1944 |
| Abraham Klassen (1850-1935) | 1903-1935 |
| Peter Baerg (1856-1933) | 1904-1933 |
| Peter Toews (1841-1922) | 1911-1922 |
| Isaac Penner (d. 1924) | 1917-1924 |
| Isaac Toews (1887-1976) | 1922-1956 |
| Gerhard de Veer (1886-1981) | 1922-1929 |
| Daniel Boese (1989-1988) | 1922-1988 |
| Frank F. Hiebert (1894-1980) | 1922-1980 |
| Jacob L. Baerg (1896-1982) | 1934-1982 |
| Albert B. Toews (1917-1999) | 1948-1960 |
| Edward Boese (1924-2014) | 1951-1959 |
| Dewey Unruh (1934-2019) | 1961-1966 |
| Ben Hiebert | 1961-1980 |
| Jacob Boese | 1964- |
| David Ratzlaff | 1964-1974 |
| Robert J. Klassen | 1968-1975 |
| Cornelius Wiebe | 1971-1992 |
| Harvey K. Toews | 1974-1990 |
| Ray Koehn | 1983-1992 |
| Roland Toews | 1983- |
| Henry Enns | 1983-1992 |
| Berton Boese | 1997- |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By J. W. Toews. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pp. 349-350. All rights reserved.
Linden Church of God in Christ, Mennonite in Linden, Alberta began in 1902 when Samuel Boese, a preacher from Oregon, took up one of the first homesteads in the district. In 1904 he was joined by Preacher Peter Baerg from Manitoba, under whose leadership the congregation prospered greatly. The members have come from Oregon, North Dakota, Manitoba and Kansas. The first church building was built in 1904, enlarged twice, and replaced by new buildings in 1920 and 1951. Samuel Boese in 1944 deeded to the church some land and a large house, now called the "Linden Home." Between 1922 and 1955, seven preachers and four deacons were ordained. The church had the regular services, Christian Endeavor programs, a sewing circle, etc. The membership in 1955 was 368.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | April 2020 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Linden Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Linden, Alberta, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2020. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Linden_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Linden,_Alberta,_Canada)&oldid=167736.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (April 2020). Linden Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Linden, Alberta, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Linden_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Linden,_Alberta,_Canada)&oldid=167736.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.