Accession 2002.014, 2007.007 and 2013.015, all filed at 2002.014
Title and Physical Description
Rosemary Mennonite Church fonds. — 1930-2003. — 12 cm of textual records. — 1 church stamp
Biographical/Administrative History
Westheimer Mennonite Church (Westheimer Gemeinde) at Rosemary, Alberta began services in 1928, serving Mennonites living at Rosemary, Gem, and Countess. It was formally organized in 1930. H.H. Janzen is considered the founding leader of the group. The first building was occupied in 1937, with subsequent building programs in 1961 and 1990. Rev. P.P. Dyck began a Bible school in his home in 1931. It moved into its own quarters in 1934 but was discontinued in 1941. The congregation was renamed Rosemary Mennonite Church in 1959 after members living at Gem formed a separate church. The church was still active in the 2010s. It has been affiliated with Mennonite Church Alberta, formerly the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta; and Mennonite Church Canada, formerly the Conference of Mennonites in Canada. The languages of worship are English and German; the transition from German occurred in the 1950s.
Custodial History
The records were transferred to the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta.
Scope & Content
The fonds consists of minutes, church registers, church transfer documents and some correspondence.
Variations in Title Proper
Also known as Westheimer Mennonite Church (Rosemary) fonds.
Source of Acquisition
Gift by Conference of Mennonites in Alberta through Henry Goerzen, CMA Archivist, 2002 and Irene Klassen, 2013.
Access Restrictions
Access to personal information in church registers & financial records is subject to MHSA privacy policy
Finding Aids
See Files Inventory
Associated Materials
Records associated with the Westheimer Mennonite Church fonds held by Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg.
Related Materials
For records related to the Westheimer Mennonite Church fonds, see Mennonite Church Alberta fonds
For history of congregation, see Mennonite Church, Rosemary: Formerly Westheimer Mennoniten Gemeinde, 1980 (MHSA Library), and Chapters IV & V in The Mennonite Conference of Alberta: A History of its Churches and Institutions, 1980, by C.L. Dick. (MHSA Library)
Notes
Accession 2002.014 and 2013.015 filed at 2002.014
Language – English and German
Sources:
* Canadian Mennonite Encyclopaedia
* Mennonite Encyclopedia, “Westheimer”
* Canadian Mennonite (March 26, 1954), 1; (Feb. 11, 1955), 7; (Oct. 6, 1961), 7
* Mennonite Reporter (Nov. 26, 1990), B2
* David Adrian, ed. Marvelous are the ways: a brief history of the Rosemary Mennonite Church (Rosemary, Alta.: Rosemary Mennonite Church, 1961), 16 pp.
* Mennonite Church, Rosemary: formerly Westheimer Mennoniten Gemeinde (Rosemary, Alta.: Rosemary Mennonite Church, 1980), 113 pp.
* C.L. Dick, The Mennonite Conference of Alberta: a history of its churches and institutions (Edmonton: The Mennonite Conference of Alberta, 1981), 147 pp.
Last updated August 2014 – Jim Bowman
Files Inventory
1-1 Bylaws – n.d.
1-2 Westheimer Mennonite Church Register [separated to oversize]
1-3 Minutes of the Gem group of the Westheimer Mennonite Church- 1947-1957
1-4 Minutes of the Gem group of the Westheimer Mennonite Church- 1956-1958
1-5 Minutes of the Gem Mennonite Church- 1958-1968
1-6 Financial Records – 1949-1958
1-7 Church Transfer Records, Historical Summary – 1936-1990
1-8 Certificates of Church Transfer – 1971-1976
1-9 Miscellaneous Notes – 1946-1990
1-10 Gem Mennonite Church History – n.d.
1-11 Gem Church history gathered by G. Paetkau – 1930-1977
1-12 Countess Congregation / Jake Wiens – 2003 – Historical essay.
1-13 Program for dedication of the new church building, 1961, Received as part of accession 2007.007.