A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

d an extensive irrigation system and was now concerned to get larger returns on its heavy investments. Irrigation and "truck farming" meant much back-breaking work, but Mennonites were willing to pay the price in return for a more regular income and the prospect of larger and more compact community settlements. Four major Mennonite settlements were established exclusively on irrigation lands at Coaldale, Gem, Vauxhall, and Rosemary. In the first three the Mennonite Brethren organized flourishing congregations. The Coaldale Mennonite Brethren Church The first M. B. church in Alberta, and the one destined to become the largest and most prominent was the one at Coaldale, ten miles east of the city of Lethbridge. For more than three decades, (from 1927 to 1957) this congregation overshadowed all other churches in the province since somewhat more than half of all conference members belonged to the Coaldale M.B. Church. The pioneer of the church and community here was a minister, Klaas Enns. Peter Bargen graphically describes the beginning: "The Mennonite settlement at Coaldale . . . began when one man and his family decided to clean sugar beets for a local farmer." 40 This was in the fall of 1925. The enthusiasm of Enns, who envisioned the possibility of building a Mennonite settlement after the pattern of the "Molotsclina" in South Russia, was contagious. Beginning in 1926, a steady stream of homeseekers found their way to Coaldale, the place where "milk and 166 HISTORY OK THF. MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH honey" quite literally flowed. Already in the spring of 1926 the brethren organized themselves as a congregation under the leadership of Klaas Enns. The church continued to grow through the years and reached its peak membership of over six hundred in 1955. The first church building, erected in 1928, had to be enlarged in 1929 and again in 1932. In 1939 a large new structure, with a seating capacity of one thousand, was erected. Several factors contributed to make Coaldale a strategic center for the Mennonite Brethren in the second quarter of this century. The congregation was blessed with an outstanding leadership, among whom B. B. Janz deserves special mention. With his wide experience in church and community affairs, Janz gave wise leadership to the congregation through the "storm and stress" of pioneer life, the depression of the thirties, and the turbulent days of World War II. Coaldale also became the educational center of the province when the brethren established a Bible school here in 1929 and a private high school in 1946. Many leading brethren in the conference have received their initial inspiration and training for Christian service in the Coaldale M. B. Church and in the Coaldale Bible School. Other (Rural) Mennonite Brethren Churches The Grassy Lake M.B. Church, some sixty miles east of Coaldale, was organized in 1927. The Gem M. B. Church was organized in 1929 and accepted in