©Mennonite Heritage Centre 2003
Last updated 27 February 2019

Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives
Winnipeg, Manitoba

West Abbotsford Mennonite Church

Retrieval numbers: Volumes 116, 117, 118, 1957, 2930, 3915, 4022, 4675, 5243, 5244, 6386

Title: West Abbotsford Mennonite Church fonds
Dates: 1953-2001
Extent: 84 cm of textual records
Repository: Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives

Historical note

The West Abbotsford Mennonite Church was founded in 1936 as the Abbotsford United Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, B.C. Mennonites had moved into the area in the late 1920s and early 1930s, mostly from the Canadian prairie provinces. They built their own meeting house in 1937. In 1939 there were 52 members and 86 in 1943. Their meeting house was enlarged in 1946 and again in 1976. In 1948 the membership was 194 and in 1956 it was 360. It is the parent church to Clearbrook Mennonite (1953), Peardonville Mennonite (1952) and Eben-Ezer Mennonite (1963). In 1951 it was named the First Mennonite Church (Abbotsford) and in 1953 it was named the West Abbotsford Mennonite Church. The congregation was also involved with the Prairie Chapel outreach. The membership was 275 in 1966 and 233 in 1990. In 1998 the membership was 161 and in 2000 it was 120. The membership stood at 113 in 2002. The leaders of the congregation were: Peter Epp (1936-1950), Kornelius Tilitzky (1939-1948), A. Löwen (1943-1952), Heinrich Epp (1945-1957), H. Neufeld (1947-1952), H. Neudorf (1949-1963), Peter Fröse (1950-1967), A. Harder (1952-1965), Jacob Tilitzky (1958-1963), Menno Epp (1966-1969), Peter Harms (1968-1986), Dick Rempel (1972-1981), David Wilson (1980-1986), Paul Boschman (1983-1987), Stan Martens (1988-1989), David Friesen (1990-1996), Egon Warkentin (1997-1998), Jake Thielmann (1998-2000), Karen Heidebrecht Thiessen (2000- ).

Scope and content note

This fonds contains bulletins (1953-2001), newsletters (1953-1997), annual reports (1954-1999), financial statements (1963-1965) [others were included in the annual reports], correspondence (1966-1999), directories (([197-?]-1997), 6 photographs : col : 15 X 10 cm. ([1979]), 50th anniversary programme (1986), congregational meeting minutes (1990-1998), ), advent devotional booklets (1991-1992), and funeral service programmes (1993-1997). The records pertain to the founding and development of the Mennonite congregation in Abbotsford, B.C. They document some of the leaders and participants in the congregation.

Subject terms

West Abbotsford Mennonite Church

Creators

West Abbotsford Mennonite Church Abbotsford, United Mennonite Church Frist Mennonite Church (Abbotsford)

Adjunct descriptive data

Finding aids

Inventory file list available.

Notes

Language

Much German.

Restrictions on access

No restrictions on access.

Other notes

Textual records have been deposited by the congregation on a regular basis at the Mennonite Heritage Centre.  Some materials were received from the Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College, Newton, Kansas in August 2007.  Described by Bert Friesen 7 March 2003; updated by Alf Redekopp, August 2007; updated by Selenna Wolfe 27 February 2019. 

West Abbotsford Mennonite Church fonds file list:

Volume 116

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1953)
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1954)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church Newsletter: Heilig dem Herrn (1951-1964)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1955-1958) (bound)
   

Volume 117

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church newsletter: WAMYF (1959-1961,  1962-1964)
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1965), newsletters (1965), financial statement (1965)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1966), newsletters (1966), correspondence (1966)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1967), newsletters (1967)
5. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1968), newsletters (1968)
6. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1969)
7. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1970)
8. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1971)

Volume 118

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1972), directory ([197-?])
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1975), directory (1975), newspaper clippings ([197-?])
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1976)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1977)
5. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1978)
6. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1979), 6 photographs : col : 15 X 10 cm. ([1979]), annual reports (1979)

Volume 1957

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1980), pictorial directory (1980)
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1981)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1982)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1983), annual reports (1983), directory (1983)

Volume 2930

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1984)
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1985)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1986), 50^th anniversary programme (1986)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1987), newsletters (1987)
5. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1988), newsletters (1988)

Volume 3915

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1989), newsletters (1989), annual reports (1989)
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1990), congregational meeting minutes (1990), annual reports (1990)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1991), advent devotional booklet (1991), newsletters (1991), annual reports (1991)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1992), advent devotional booklet (1992), correspondence (1992), congregational meeting minutes (1992), annual reports (1992), congregational office holders (1992)

Volume 4022

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1993), directory (1993), correspondence (1993), newsletters (1993), funeral service programme (1993), annual reports (1993)
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1994), directory (1994), annual reports (1994), correspondence (1994)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1995), congregational meeting minutes (1995), annual reports (1995), newsletters (1995)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1996), congregational meeting minutes (1996), newsletters (1996), annual reports (1996), funeral service programme (1996)

Volume 4675

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1997), directory (1997), funeral service programme (1997), correspondence (1997), congregational meeting minutes (1997), newsletters (1997), annual reports (1997)
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1998), congregational meeting minutes (1998), directory (1998)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1999), correspondence (1999), annual reports (1999)

Volume 5243

1.  West Abbotsford Mennonite Church annual reports (1954-1958, 1960, 1963, 1964)
2.  West Abbotsford Mennonite Church bulletins (1959-1961), Newsletter: Heilig dem Herrn (1959-1960) (bound)
3.  West Abbotsford Mennonite Church devotional booklet: Promise and expectation (Advent 1992)

Volume 5244

1. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church  Newsletter: Heilig dem Herrn (1960-1966) 
2. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church  Directories (1974, 1976, 1983, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998)
3. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church  Education meetings (1990, 1992, 1994, 1995)
4. West Abbotsford Mennonite Church  bulletins (1962-1964) (bound)