© Mennonite Heritage Archives, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Last updated 23 July 2018)
George Groening fonds. -- 1938-2010.
Extent: 1.2 m of textual
records.
Retrieval: Volumes
6365-6367.
Biographical Sketch:
George Groening was a pastor and church leader in the Conference
of Mennonites in Canada and in the provincial conferences of Manitoba and
BC. He was born to Heinrich Groening and
Maria Penner in 1918 in the Lowe farm area of Manitoba. During the Second World
War he served as a conscientious objector (CO), working at Riding Mountain
National Park, B.C. forestry service, a BC dairy farm, and teaching in Norway
House, Manitoba. In 1944 he married Aganetha Heinrichs and they had three
daughters.
After His CO service he attended normal school in Winnipeg to
become a teacher. His CO service helped
prepare him for church leadership, which started in his home congregation of
the Lowe Farm Bergthaler Mennonite Church in 1947. Because of his CO experience
in aboriginal communities, he was elected to serve on the board of the
Mennonite Pioneer Mission. He pastored
Bethel Mennonite Church in Winnipeg (1954-1966), member of the General
Conference Mennonite Church Board of Missions (ca. 1965-1967), pastor at Foothills
Mennonite Church in Calgary (1966-1971), Eden Mennonite Church in Chilliwack,
B.C. (1971-1984), and Clearbrook Mennonite Church (1989). He was the chairman of the Mennonite Pioneer
Mission in the 1950s, chairman of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada Board
of Missions in the 1960s, Member of the Conference of Mennonites in BC Missions
committee (ca. 1971-1974), moderator of Mennonite Church British Columbia (1975-1979),
and chair of Columbia Bible College in the 1980s.
Groening was invited to speak at a variety of churches and
events including Young United Church in Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, graduation
ceremony at Canadian Bible College in Regina, at the dedication of a Men’s
Dormitory, at funerals, weddings and wedding anniversaries.
George lives in Chilliwack, BC.
This fonds consists sermons preached by Groening 1938-2010, cassette tapes of church services where he
preached that cover 3 years when he was pastor at Eden Mennonite Church, and a
record of marriages and funerals he officiated at. Groening was an exceptionally organized
person. The vast sermon collection of
some 3800 sermons with index covers a wide time frame and geography.
With his donation of sermons are 83 cassette tapes recording the
church services at the Eden Mennonite Church in Chilliwack, BC while he
was pastor. Some of the tapes have lines drwn in pen on the
cassettes showing where his sermon begins.
Groening used an indexing system for his sermons arranged by
book of the Bible. Each sermon was
carefully recorded including title, date, and location.
Notes: Predominantly English, some German.
Accession Numbers: 2018-029
Related Material:
For the
cassette tapes, see Eden Mennonite Church fonds cassette numbers
5165-5247. Groening deposited his
materials collected while serving with conference bodies (1966,
and July 13, 1990. See Conference of Mennonites
in Canada fonds (volume 755-774), Mennonite Pioneer Mission (volume 343b), Mennonite
Church Manitoba (volume 2838—2844).
Other related material see Mennonite
Pioneer Mission Quarterly and Bethel Mennonite Church fonds, Foothills Mennonite
Church (volume 2421).
Associated Material: Mennonite Historical
Society of British Columbia, George Groening fonds. George
Groening, Alternative Service for Peace. Edited by A.J. Klassen. Abbotsford: Mennonite Central Committee (B.C.) Seniors for Peace, 95-99.
Inventory File List:Volume 6365 George Groening sermons, index and
record of marriages and funerals. – 1938-2010.
Volume 6366 George Groening Sermons. – 1950-1970.
Volume 6367 George Groening Sermons. – 1971-1991.