THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

ce in which to meet, Ladekopp was far from central in the Molotschna Colony, and Br. Schmidt did not want to live in the isolated building provided, because he became the victim of thieves again and again. In addition, a marked decline in land prices was caused by large numbers emigrating from the Molotschna. This resulted in tne loss of two thousand five hundred rubles to the church. This was not easy for the, as yet, small church, and the feeling of dissatisfaction was great, especially in the light of the absolute fruitlessness of the expense. The painful collections for the project took six years, beginning in 1873. 8. The Church Buildings in Rueckenau. a) When the undertaking in Ladekopp failed, a few brethren, particularly Philipp Isaak of Tiege, decided to buy a building privately for the same purpose in Rueckenau, which was much more centrally located in the Molotschna Colony; the §224 494 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH building was then to be remodelled and rented to the believers. This was in the year 1874. The building, now known as the ‘‘old meeting house,” had been a tavem(!) for many years, a fact that had caused the ethically scrupulous people of the village much concern and offense. The village a dmini strator at the time was Gerhard Epp, a serious and pious man, who soon thereafter became a faithful member of the M.B. Church. Precisely on the day that Abraham Schellenberg, Philipp Isaak, and Johann Friesen came to him to request his consent for the project, Epp had cried to God from the depths of his soul for counsel and help because of this village plague, the tavern. The coming of the brethren with their plan was for him an answer to prayer and an indication of God’s working. Because of Epp’s influence in the village community and the people’s opposition to the tavern, the permission of the Rueckenau village council, allowing the establishment of a meeting house for the Mennonite Brethren in the Molotschna, though initially on a private basis, came through with unexpected ease. (The inhabitants of Rueckenau at that time were members of the Mennonite Church in Margenau.) So now the “tavern” was to be transformed into a “house of prayer.” God blessed the undertaking. One partition after another had to be removed from the building which in those beginning years was considered a rather large one. Finally a wing was added for the church custodian, and the entire interior space was used for worship. In an ever increasing way the “old tavern,” now the “new church,” became filled with worshippers. Soon the congregation bought the building from the brethren, and everyone rejoiced that the Lord had given them a center for worship. At that time only the general assembly on the first Sunday of the month convened here. On the other Sundays and for the special festivals the meetings rotated from village to village wherever the “brethren” lived. This was done according to an “assembly list