©Mennonite Heritage Centre 2003
Last updated 08 April 2014

Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Title: Whitewater Mennonite Church fonds
Dates: 1927-2009
Extent: 44 cm of textual records
Extent: 1 microfilm reel

Historical note

The Whitewater Mennonite Church was organized April 18, 1927 by Mennonite families from the Soviet Union who settled in south western part of Manitoba. The first elder was Franz F. Enns of Lena, Manitoba, who had been elder of the Terek Mennonite Church in Russia. On June 16, 1938 G.G. Neufeld succeeded him. In 1958 the church had 565 members and a total population of 1209 persons in 257 families. It was a mulit-congregational church with the following affliates or local congregations: Whitewater (162 members), Rivers (96 members), Ninga (63 members), Lena (80 members), Crystal City (135 members), Manitou (29 members). Five of these groups had their own meetinghouses. In 1958 all worship was in German. In 1936 a meeting house was built near Boissevain. A larger meeting house was built in the town in 1960. In 1947 this church was merged into the Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba. The leaders of the congregation were: Franz Enns (1931-1939), Gerhard G. Neufeld (1930-1995), Peter Janzen (1931-1942), Abr. Neufeld (1931-1936), another Gerhard G. Neufeld (1931-1949), Jacob Born (1932-1964), Peter Harms (1950-1957), Bernhard Neufeld (1950-1974), Ed Cornelsen (1958-1965), Jacob Harms (1958-1970), Jake Neufeld (1967-1994), Peter Peters (1971-1989), Werner Neufeld (1972-1973), Henry Harder (1982-1983), Reuben Siemens (1985-1986), Valery Isbicki (1987-1989), Al Rempel (1995-2000), another Peter Janzen (2001- ).

Scope and content note

This fonds consists of minutes, bulletins, newsletters, registers, constitutions, and annual reports which pertain to the beginning and development of the Whitewater Mennonite group of congregations (Gemeinde). This fonds contains material which is applicable to both the Gemeinde and the local congregation and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two because the group of churches had the same name as the one congregation in the group. There are membership and family registers (1927-1979), membership lists (1927-1969, 1991), Gemeinde/congregational constitution ([196-?]), brief history of the Gemeinde (1980), miscellaneous documents concerning the history of the Gemeinde ([197-?]), congregational bulletins (1965-2000, 2002), church council meeting minutes (1966-1979, 1992), Gemeinde/congregational meeting minutes (1927-1993), ministers and deacons conference programmes and minutes (1931-1969), annual reports (1966-1992), congregational newsletters (1983-1996), financial documents ([196-]), directories (1980-1993).

Finding aids

Inventory file list available.

Notes

Language

Much German.

Restrictions on access

No restrictions on access.

Other notes

Some textual records were microfilmed at the Mennonite Heritage Centre in 1980. Other textual records were deposited by the congregation at the Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg. Some original minutes ledgers and scribblers which were kept  by recording secretary Henry Albrecht were brought to the Centre by Art Hildebrand of Crystal City in 2009.

Whitewater Mennonite Church (Boissevain) fonds file list:

Volume 661  (Acc. no. 09-008)

1. Gemeinde Protokolle 18 April 1927 to 3 Dec. 1956 [Congregation meeting minutes (1927-1956)]
2. Protokolle der Predigerzusamenkuefte und der Gemindestunden 1931-1957 [Ministerial meeting minutes (1931-1957)]
3. Gemeinde Protokoll Buch 1957-1965 [Congregation meeting minutes (1957-1965)]
4. Prediger u. Diaconen Protokoll Buch 1957-1965 [Ministers and deacons meeting minutes]
5. Protokoll-Buch der Distrikt Sonntagschulkonferenz 1951-1973 [Sunday School conferences, program committee and S.S. Superintendents meetings]
6. Building project financial records (1959-1961) (Two school scribblers contain demographic information including names of the men from each local group -- Rivers, Whitewater, Ninga, Lena, Mather, Crystal City and Manitou.)
7. Protokole der Bruderschaften 1930-1936 (This school scribbler contains the rough notes of the recording secretary)
8. Constitution of the Whitewater Mennonite Church; Statuten der Whitewater Mennonitengemeinde (1963)

Volume 40

1. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1965), financial statement (1965)
2. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1966), annual reports (1966), membership list (1966), financial statement (1966)
3. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1967)
4. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1972)
5. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1973)
6. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1976)
7. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1977), annual reports (1977), congregational meeting minutes (1977)
8. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1978), congregational office holders (1978)
9. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1979)
10. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1980), annual reports (1980), congregational meeting minutes (1980), directory (1980)
11. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1981), annual reports (1981), congregational meeting minutes (1981)
12. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1982), congregational meeting minutes (1982), report from non-resident membership committee (1982)
13. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1985), congregational newsletters (1985), annual reports (1985), directory (1985)

Volume 2934

1. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1983), directory (1983), congregational newsletters (1983)
2. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1984), songbook (1984), congregational newsletters (1984)
3. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1986), congregational newsletters (1986)
4. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1987), congregational newsletters (1987), annual reports (1987)
5. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1988), congregational newsletters (1988)
6. Whitewater Mennonite Church Pictorial Directory (1987?)

Volume 3918

1. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1989), congregational newsletters (1989), annual reports (1989)
2. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1990), congregational newsletters (1990)
3. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1991), congregational newsletters (1991), annual reports (1991), membership list (1991)
4. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1992), congregational newsletters (1992), congregational meeting minutes (1992), church council meeting minutes (1992), annual reports (1992)
5. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1993), congregational newsletters (1993), congregational meeting minutes (1993), directory (1993)
6. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1994); annual report books 1994; Inky Waves newsletter March/April, May/Jun, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec, committee members list 1993

Volume 4447

1. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1995), congregational newsletters (1995)
2. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1996), congregational newsletters (1996)
3. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1997)
4. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1998)
5. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (1999)
6. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (2000), "These Stones Can Speak!": a collecton of personal stories (2000)
7. Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (2002)

Volume 2633

1.  Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (2003), report book (2003)

2.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (1995), Council Minutes (1995), directory (1995)

3.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (1996), Council Minutes (1996)

4.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (1997), Council Minutes (1997)

5.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (1998), Council Minutes (1998)

6.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (1999), Council Minutes (1999)

7.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (2000), Council Minutes (2000)

8.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (2001), Council Minutes (2001)

9.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (2002), Council Minutes (2002)

10.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (2003), Council Minutes (2003)

11.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Congregational Meeting Minutes (2004), Council Minutes (2004)

12.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Bulletins (2005), annual report book (2005)

13.  Whitewater Mennonite Church Bulletins (2006), annual report book (2006), Council Minutes and Ministerial Minutes (2006)

4.  Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (2010)

5.  Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (2011)

6.  Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (2012)

7.  Whitewater Mennonite Church bulletins (2013)

Microfilm

(MHC Project No. 60; MHC Microfilm no. 207)

Microfilm 207

1. Family registers: birth, baptism, marriage, and death.
2. Membership lists.
3. Term paper, "The History of the Whitewater Mennonite Church" by Robert Dyck. -- 1980.
4. Cover page of "Die Geschichte der Whitewater Mennoniten Gemeinde in Manitoba, Canada, 1925-1965" by G. G. Neufeld.
5. Newspaper clippings from the Boissevain Recorder and Der Bote.
6. Copy of an article prepared for the Mennonite Encyclopedia by G. G. Neufeld.
7. Das 50 Jährige Jubiläumsfest der Whitewater Gemeinde by Tina Neufeld. -- 1977.
8. Church council meeting minutes. -- 1966-1979.
9. Congregational meeting minutes. -- 1927-1972.
10. Congregational meeting programmes. -- 1957-1964.
11. Prediger und Diakonen Konferenz meeting minutes. -- 1931-1969.
12. Gemeinde Stunde programmes. -- 1949-1965.
13. Gemeinde Stunde minutes. -- 1931-1969.
14. Congregational meeting minutes. -- 1966-1979.
15. Annual reports. -- 1969-1978.
16. Constitutions.
17. Lists of committee members.
18. Financial records.
19. Statistics.
20. Other.