A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

cal church was not always easy, and as Lohrenz points out, "was sometimes fraught with friction and misunderstanding."" But the common faith in Christ and the love for the brethren helped to bridge cultural differences and united the two groups in the common cause of building God's kingdom. New congregations composed almost exclusively of Russlaender were organized in North Saskatchewan at Fairholm (1926, dissolved in 1949), Watrous (1927), Glenbush (1928) and Mullingar (1928), now ex- tinct). The Watrous congregation, composed largely of members who in Russia had belonged to the Allianz Gemeinde, organized initially as an Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church, but after five years joined the MB Conference. In South Saskatchewan most of the Russlaender joined existing M.B. churches. Two smaller congregations established by immigrants, Reinfeld (1927) and Blumenort (1926), are now extinct. A considerable number of smaller mission churches have been founded in both North and South as the result of extensive home mission efforts. Even in the wheat-growing province, where Mennonite life could aptly be expressed by the symbolism of the "Bible and the Plow" for many years, urbanization has overtaken the Mennonite Brethren. This is due in part to the general shift of population from rural to urban areas, but it is also the result of strategic planning for church extension. The first Mennonite Brethren church (now Central M. B. Church) in Saskatoon began in 1927 when members gathered for worship under the leadership of Peter Funk. In 1932 a congregation was organized. Under H. S. Rempel, who began a long and fruitful ministry here in 1935, the city mission and the congregation were closely related. After World War 164 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH II, two other M. B. churches were established in Saskatoon: Nutana (1963) on the east side, and West Portal (1957) on the west side. In Swift Current an M. B. church was organized as early as 1933, and in Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, in 1941. In recent years mission churches have also been established in North Battleford and in Moose Jaw. 1 * During the Depression in the 1930's the Mennonite Brethren churches of Saskatchewan suffered severely, along with the rest of the population. Drought, dust storms, low prices, and bleak economic prospects generally, prompted many families to look for greener pastures elsewhere. From South Saskatchewan a goodly number moved into the Abbotsford area of British Columbia; from North Saskatchewan a relatively large group moved eastward and settled in the Virgil area of southern Ontario. This "drainage" of members to British Columbia and Ontario retarded the growth of congregations in Saskatchewan. Expansion through immigration presented a sociological problem: tensions between the Kanaedier and the Russlaender groups. Despite a common origin and a common faith, adjustment of the Russlaender immigra