Mennonite
Historical
Society

of Alberta

Sunday School and Daily Vacation Bible School (MCA) collection

Accession 2015.012

Title and Physical Description

Sunday School and Daily Vacation Bible School (MCA) collection. – 1955-1964 – 7 cm of textual records. – 1 photograph

Administrative/Biographical History

Sunday Schools and Daily Vacation Bible Schools were integral aspects of the Christian Education programs of churches affiliated with the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta.  New initiatives were taken in the late 1950s and early 1960s by local churches, the provincial, Canadian and North American conferences to strengthen, enrich and standardize Sunday School programs, curricula and reporting and evaluation practices.  There were similar, though less detailed, initiatives for Daily Vacation Bible Schools.

Scope and Content

The Sunday School collection consists of background and supporting documentation, and more detailed completed questionaires, reports, correspondence and other documentation provided by individual churches during the time when J. D. Harder was Director of Sunday School Work for the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta.   The Daily Vacation Bible School files include reports, correspondence and supporting material for the time when Corny Hildebrand served as co-ordinator.  These files have been rearranged in chronological order.   They comprise two separate  collections, one pertaining to Sunday Schools and the other to Daily Vacation Bible Schools.

Source of acquisition

The collection was donated by Henry Goerzen, historian and archivist of the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta (later Mennonite Church Alberta).

File list

Sunday School files, J. D. Harder, Superintendent

File 1. Background and Supporting Documents. – ca. 1958 – 1964.
1.1 September 16, 1958 issue of The Mennonite which focuses on enrichment of Sunday School programs and curricula.
1.2 1959 Report of the Board of Education and Publication of the General Conference Mennonite Church.
1.3 A few letters conerning missions information for use in Sunday Schools.
1.4 Manuscript entited Fragen zur Ethik, written in catechism format for use in Sunday Schools (author not given).
1.5 Set of Bible verse memory flash cards.
1.6 1964 Project Calendar for the Sunday Schoolw of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada.

File 2. Working Papers and Minutes. – ca 1961
2.1 The Commandments for Sunday School Workers and Sunday School Beatitudes.
2.2 Dedication Service for S.S. teachers.
2.3 The Teacher’s Pledge.
2.4 List of Sunday School projects.
2.5 Minutes of the Board of Education and Publication, July 5, 1961.
2.6 Minutes of a Meeting of the Sunday School Committee, July 5, 1961.

File 3, Sunday School Superintendent reports and correspondence from the churches. – ca 1959-1963.
3.1 First Mennonite Church, Calgary, 1963.
3.2 North Hill Mennonite Mission, Calgary, 1960.
3.3 Carstairs, Alberta, 1959, 1960 and 1963.
3 4.Coaldale Mennonite Church, 1960.
3.5 First Mennonitoe Church, Edmoton, 1959, 1960, 1961.
3.6 Gem, 1960, 1961.

File 4, Sunday School Superintendent reports, and correspondence from the churches. – ca 1959-1961.
4.1 Hillside Mission, Grande Prairie, 1960.
4.2 Westheimer Mennonite Church, Rosemary, 1959,1961.
4.3 Taber Mennonite Mission, 1959, 1960, 1961,
4.4 Seven Persons, 1964, Sprinridge, 1960, 1961,
4.5 Tofield, 1959, 1960, 1961.
4.6 Vauxhall, 1959. 1960.

File 5 Daily Vacation Bible School files, Corny Hildebrandt. –  1955-1959. –  Includes 1 photograph

File 6 Daily Vacation Bible School files, Corney Hildebrandt. –  1960-1961,

File 7 Daily Vacation Bible School, Correspondence and Reports. – 1962-1964.