©Mennonite Heritage Centre 2002
Last updated April 14, 2009

Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Title: Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church fonds
Dates: 1965-1976
Extent: 12 cm of textual records

Historical note

The Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church was affiliated with the Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba and Conference of Mennonites in Canada from 1937-1976. The congretion began services in 1937. The founding group consisted of families of the Bergthaler affliation which the Bergthaler leadership had tried to serve in the Steinbach region and Russian Mennonite immigrants of the 1920s. In 1944 a building was purchased, moved to a town site, and renovated for use the following year. In 1951 a larger meeting house was built, but it was destroyed by fire in 1959. In 1960 a new meeting house was completed. The use of the German language and other conflicts within the church led to a division around 1959 that resulted in the founding of Grace Mennonite Church. Steinbach Bergthaler was an independant church until it officially joined the Bergthaler Church of Manitoba from 1965 till 1976. The church asked for release of membership from the Conference of Mennonites in Canada in 1976 because it did not agree with the program of the conference and had "doctrinal differences." It dropped the Bergthaler name in 1986 to become the Christian Fellowship Church. The leaders of the congregation were: Jacob Funk (1940-1948), David Klassen (1940-1950), Peter Loewen (1940-1950), Joh. Nickel (1941-1944), Wilhelm Heinrichs (1947-1950), J. Schmidt (1948-1950), Abe Hiebert (1965-1971), John Hoeppner (1951-1976), Wm. Funk (1962-1964), Otto Hamm (1974-1976)

Scope and content note

This fonds contains congregational bulletins (1965-1976) which reflect some of the activities of the congregation during the period that it was a member of the Bergthaler Church of Manitoba and affliated with the Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba and Conference of Mennonites in Canada.

Adjunct descriptive data

Finding aids

Inventory file list available.

Notes

Restrictions on access

No restrictions on access.

Other notes

The congregation deposited materials in the Mennonite Heritage Centre. Described by Bert Friesen 27 November 2001.

Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church, Manitoba fonds file list:

Volume 38

  1. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1965)
  2. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1966)
  3. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1967)
  4. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1968)
  5. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1969)
  6. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1970)
  7. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1971)
  8. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1972)
  9. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1973)
  10. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1974)
  11. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1975)
  12. Steinbach Bergthaler Mennonite Church bulletins (1976)