little Mennonite Church on the prairie

I grew up in a farming community east of Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada. Prairie life and the traditions of my extended Mennonite family later inspired my 1940s novel CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS, published by Borealis Press https://tinyurl.com/ycj6n62s. The Mennonites in our community, who had come from Russia in the 1920s, were a minority in the Elbow area. However, they tried hard to keep their culture, values, and beliefs. Here's my Uncle Henry W. Martens' story of our little Mennonite church on the prairie.

FIRST MINISTER, FIRST CHURCH BUILDING

The Mennonite Brethren Church of Saskatchewan, Elbow Parish, was founded in 1932. Four or five families met in homes in the country previous to the founding of the church.

    Our first minister was a farmer, teacher, minister of the Gospel--Rev. Frank F. Wiens of Loreburn. The congregation continued meeting in their farm homes until the early 1940s, when a school (Berndt School) was purchased in partnership with the General Conference Congregation, who were about the same number of people as the Brethren group. The school building was restored and painted. It served very well as a church building. (Exact location was School District # 3066, NE, Sec 25, Tsp 25, Rge 4, W of the 3 Meridian, 63, Elbow.)

VISITING MINISTERS

When the Frank Wiens family moved to BC, the General Conference Congregation and the Brethren Congregation continued to share this church building in the country, alternating with every other Sunday services, each congregation being served by visiting ministers. We would usually attend each other's services.

    The visiting minister for our Brethren Church was most often Rev. H.S. Rempel of Saskatoon, who was once quoted as saying, when he was already in his 80s, that he did not know what he was going do when he was old. When we did not have a visiting minister, some of us would attend the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Elbow.

CHURCH IN TOWN

In 1962 our Brethren Congregation, with the encouragement and assistance of the Saskatchewan MB Conference, built a new church in the town of Elbow.

   Our first minister there was Jake (and Agnes) Schmidt, who ministered very capably for four years. When the Schmidts moved to Winnipeg, our Congregation engaged Rev. David (and Anita) Esau to be our minister. He also served faithfully for four years. Both the Schmidts and Esaus were very active in the community, visiting hospitals and homes in the district.

       

CONTINUING MINISTRY

When the Esaus were invited to serve a church at Lashburn, SK, our Congregation made arrangements with Henry (and Lydia) Dyck, a lay minister of Saskatoon, to visit our church and serve as speaker three times a month, and Rev. John Heinrichs served us once a month. We remember the Dycks by their love for singing. Their three young children, Myron, Melody, and Marilee, were talented...singers. They made some records, which some of us purchased and enjoyed.

    When the Dycks moved to Steinbach, MB, our Congregation invited Rev. John (and Susan) Heinrichs of Eyebrow to be our minister. He had resigned from the Conference Church at Eyebrow after serving there faithfully for 18 years. John and Susan Heinrichs, who farm at Eyebrow, were and still are a real blessing to us and served as fulltime minister till 1988.

    Our present minister is Henry Loewen who, with his wife, Marie, moved to Elbow in 1988. In their words, "to retire in a quiet place," but have worked as diligently as ever in the service of the Lord. Brother Henry is a retired teacher and, with his wife, Marie, was in charge of Fair Havens Mission and also (served) as house parents in Mission outreach in Toronto.

     Both Henry and Marie are active in the Gideons (and the) Elbow, Lakeview Friendship Club. (They are also active in) visiting the sick and handicapped in the district, as well as ministering in our church, with Bible Study and as Sunday School teacher.

FELLOWSHIP, COOPERATION, AND BLESSING

We have been blessed by many dedicated brothers and sisters in the Lord in our Church history. Honorable mention should be made of Mr. George Bahnman of Loreburn, farmer, who was a driving force in the building of our Church in Elbow. He served as treasurer when it was built and for a number of years afterwards.

    Over the 63 years of our Church history, we have been blessed with a spirit of cooperation with the General Conference members with whom we shared the church in the country, also by the good will and fellowship of other churches in the community in crusades and special endeavors.   Something worthy also is that, in the 63 years of our charter, we have had only eight years of paying a minister a salary. Both John Heinrichs and Henry Loewen not only serve without remuneration, but help support the Church financially. Also our mission budget has been a large part of our financial commitment.

    Some of our adherents have remarked about the spirit of cooperation and good will at our annual business meetings.

    We want to give all the praise to God for the blessings of the past and look to Him for guidance in the future.

--Henry W. Martens

Henry wrote the above history in 1995. Since then, the Elbow Mennonite Brethren Church has closed because there were not enough people. The closing service was held in August 1997, the year of the church's 65th anniversary. Former ministers were present to help celebrate God's blessings over the years. So were visitors from the community and farther afield.

    The former church building now serves as the library in the village of Elbow. Many former Elbow Mennonite Church members and adherents attend Elbow's Bethel Lutheran Church, where they have been warmly welcomed.