Jacob M. Unrau fonds. -- 1900-1903, 1943-1995. -- 115 cm of textual records.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Jacob (Jake) M. Unrau was born to John A. and Helena (Martens) Unrau on January 19, 1920 on his grandfather Martens' farm in Silberfeld, five miles from Gretna, Manitoba. He was the oldest of seven children from his father's first marriage. Other children include Margaret, Helen, Mary, Agnes, John, and Albert. His father was one of the last private school teachers in the Silberfeld and Halbstadt school districts and then began farming. Both parents were raised in the Sommerfelder church setting, and became very faithful members. Jake's mother, Helena died on April 5, 1931 at the age of 35 after a lengthy illness. In 1931, Jake's father married Karoline Bansen in the Altona Bergthaler Mennonite church. Five more children were added to the family through this marriage -- Henry, Paul, Diedrich, Karoline and Nick.
Jake attended school in the Silberfeld area, however when the family move to Grunthal, Manitoba, he continued his education through correspondence courses. He was baptized by Bishop David Schulz of the Bergthaler Mennonite church in June 1939. Shortly thereafter he felt led to pursue mission work. This led him in 1940 to attend the Elim Bible school in Altona, Manitoba. In 1941 he was called to military service, but agreed with the church doctrine and opted for conscientious objectors status, which he received and worked in an Alternative Service Camp at Riding Mountain Provincial Park.
While in Bible school he met Trudie Giesbrecht whom he married on May 23, 1943. Trudie was the daughter of Cornelius Giesbrecht (1893-1985) and Aganetha Penner (1893-1984). They began working on a dairy farm near Homewood, Manitoba. Here they worked hard but felt they had another calling. In 1948 they began work with the newly formed Mennonite Pioneer Mission (MPM), an outreach ministry of the Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Manitoba. They served the aboriginal community at Matheson Island in Manitoba's Interlake region from 1948-1956. They were the first live-in ministers at Matheson Island, where they planted a church and expanded their work into other communities.
In 1956 the family moved back to southern Manitoba and Jake attended Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC). After this furlough they again headed out into the mission field. From 1957-1965 Mennonite Pioneer Mission supported their work with another aboriginal community in Manigotogan. This post was not as isolated as Matheson Island, since this community had a road built for most of the trip. Some of their children stayed with relatives in southern Manitoba in order to attend school. In total the Jake and Trudie Unrau had six children: Patricia, Hedy, Larry, Mabel, Phyllis, and Vernelle.
In 1965 another break from mission work was in order and they moved back to Winnipeg where Jake attended CMBC once again. When arriving back at Manigotogan they realized that others had taken up their work and to stay would be somewhat redundant. Mennonite Pioneer Mission was aware of the drift of northern people south into the community of Selkirk, Manitoba. For this reason when friends of the Unrau's realized that they were looking for an assignment they approached MPM and asked that Jake be assigned to work in Selkirk as their minister. MPM agreed. They continued their church work in Selkirk until 1972.
In 1972 the Unraus continued their pastoral mission work in Hammon, Oklahoma with native Americans under the General Conference Mennonite church. In 1975 they returned to Winnipeg and audited courses at the University of Winnipeg. Jake and Trudie then began working with aboriginal people coming to Winnipeg for medical treatment under the auspices of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada Native Ministries. Jake and Trudie retired in 1985 and moved to Bethel Place, a Mennonite apartment building for seniors. From here they continued to be active in the church and in activities at the home. Jake Unrau passed away on December 17, 1999. Trudy Unrau died March 19, 2011.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
This fonds consists of seven series: 1) Diaries 2) Day planners 3) Journals 4) Church material 5) Sermons 6) Education 7) Christmas and New Years wishes.
CUSTODIAL HISTORY
Part of this collection was housed at the Mennonite Heritage Centre from May 1, 1987 until Feb. 15, 1990. (See Acc. no. 87-121) These items were retrieved by John Funk on behalf of Jacob Unrau. (See Note dated Feb. 20, 1990 by Assistant Archivist Jim Suderman) The entire collection which included these previously retrieved items were deposited at the Mennonite Heritage Centre by Jacob M. Unrau in 1996 (see Acc. no. 96-052). More materials came in 2000. In March 2007 Trudie donated the Christmas and New Years wish material to the archives.
NOTES
Location: Volume 4461-4463, 4934-4937.
Description completed by Conrad Stoesz in 1998, updated February 26, 2001, 2003 and March 2, 2007 by Conrad Stoesz. Updated by Alf Redekopp, Sept. 14, 2009, Conrad Stoesz July 17, 2017.
Finding aid: Series description with inventory file list.
Acc. No. 87-121, 96-052, 00-59, 07-014.
Related Material: Bergthaler Mennonite church of Manitoba fonds.
Mennonite Pioneer Mission fonds.
Native ministries series within Conference of Mennonites in Canada fonds.
Gerhard G. Epp fonds, Volume 575, File # 27.
Unrau, Jake and Trudie. Living in the Way. Winnipeg, Manitoba: CMBC Publications, 1996.
Mennonite Pioneer Mission Quarterly. Altona, Manitoba: Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Manitoba.
Das Gemeinde Blatt. Altona, Manitoba: Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Manitoba.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
1) Diaries. -- 1943-1992. -- 46 cm of textual records.
This series consists of a collection of notebooks in which Jake and Trudie Unrau recorded their day to day activities. Some entries are short, containing only a sentence or two, while others are pages long. These diaries give a personal window into the lives of this missionary couple and the people with whom they worked. The diaries continue into their retirement years. A few entries are written in German.
Location: Volume 4461:1-5; 4462:2,3,7,9,10; 4463:9-21; 4464:1-6.
2) Day planners. -- 1967-1971, 1973, 1981. -- 13 cm of textual records.
This series contains desk diaries and day planners that record meeting times, phone numbers and other office related items. On occasion a diary type entry was made. These day planners were used in the various churches where the Unraus functioned.
Location: Volume 4461:13,14; 4462:4-6, 8; 4463:3,4.
3) Journals. -- 1975-1980, 1982-1984. -- 18 cm of textual records.
This series contains working notes. Sermon ideas, phone numbers, correspondence and short hand entries about the day can all be found in this series of material.
Location: Volume 4462:11,12; 4463:1,2,6-8.
4) Church material. -- 1948-1986, 1996. -- 9 cm of textual records.
This series has material that is related to the different aspects of church life. Financial records, attendance books, and minutes of church meetings can all be found within this series. A number of sermons can also be located here. The church records come from various locations including Matheson Island, Manigotogan, Selkirk, and Winnipeg.
Location: Volume 4461: 6-12,15; 4462:1; 4463:5.
5) Sermons. -- 1948-1995. -- 21 cm of textual records.
This series consists of sermon notes and other material he collected for his sermons. The majority of the sermons are divided by year. Some sermons have been placed together on a theme such as German sermons, or sermons used at Selkirk Christian Fellowship. Note: A few sermons can be found interspersed with the Church Material series.
Location: Volumes 4934-4936.
6) Education. -- 1956-1957, 1965, 1975-1976, 1980-1981. -- 4 cm of textual records.
This series consists of essays and class notes when Unrau took classes at Elim Bible School , Canadian Mennonite Bible College , Mennonite Brethren Bible College and a Pastoral Education course at St. Boniface Pastoral Education Institute.
Location: Volume 4937:1-4.
7) Christmas and New Years wishes. -- 1900-1903. -- 1 cm of textual records.
This series consists of well wishes for Christmas and New Year written by Trudie Unrau's parents, Cornelius Giesbrecht and Aganetha Penner, when they were school children. This was a common tradtion in Mennonite familes during this time period. The wishes are published forms filled out. Also included are poems and coloured Sunday School materials.
Location : 4463:22-23.Jacob M. Unrau fonds inventory file list:
Volume 4461
Volume 4462
Volume 4463
Volume 4464
Volume 4934
1 -20 Jacob M. Unrau sermon notes and material from services he was involved with. -- 1949-1973. -- Files 1-20.
21 Jacob M. Unrau sermon notes and material from services he was involved with in Selkirk and Oklahoma. -- 1970-1972.
22 Jacob M. Unrau sermon notes and material from services he was involved with, no dates. -- 1948-1985.
Volume 4935
1 -12 Jacob M. Unrau sermon notes and material from services he was involved with . -- 1974-1986. -- files 1-12.
Volume 4936
1. Bethel Place German program Sunday morning, 3rd Sunday in the week. -- 1980-1990.
2. German Mission sermons. -- 1963-1986.
3. Sermons after 1988. -- 1990-1994.
4. Sermon matter. -- [19-].
5. Easter April 2, 1995 program.
6. Sermons. -- 1993-1997.
7. Sermons. -- 1978-1991.
8. Sermons at Selkirk , Manitoba . -- 1968-1972.
Volume 4937
1. Our Holiday trip. -- July 1995.
2. Class notes from course at MBBC regarding nonresistance. -- 1965.
3. Student papers by J.M. Unrau. -- 1956,1957,1975,1976.
a. Missions (1956)
b. Christian Committment (1956)
c. Theology of Evangelism (1957)
d. Millennialsim (1957)
e. The Meaning of the Temptations for Jesus (1957)
f. Wayne E. Oates Theory on Pastoral Counseling (1975)
g. Introduction to the Ministry of a Minority Group (1975)
h. The Mennonite Pioneer Mission (1956)
4. Supervised Pastoral Education course at St. Boniface Pastoral Education Institute. -- 1980-1981. -- Note: Included here is a note book from Unrau's days at Elim Bible School.
5. Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU). -- 1968-1969.
6. Voluntary Service program in Manigotogan, Manitoba . -- 1966-1967.
7. Mennonite Pioneer Missions (MPM) Executive. -- 1968.
8. Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU). -- 1975-1976.
9. Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU). -- 1975-1982.
10. Native ministries. -- 1983.
11. Winnipeg Ministries reports. -- 1979-1984.
12. Various reports. -- 1966-1983.
13. Family letters. -- 1976-1987.
14. Miscellaneous correspondence. -- 1973-1995.
15. Manigotagan, The Old Timers. A calendar picturing some of the long time residence of the area/ Colleen Meade. -- 1989.
16. A registry of the couples (29) that I [Jake Unrau] married from Feb 25, 1955 to June 26, 1986.
17. Selkirk Christian Fellowship, Jacob M. Unrau pastor 1967-1972. -- [after 1992]. -- Note: included here is an obituary for Jacob M. Unrau.