ELBOW CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CLOSES DOORS

On August 3, the congregation of Elbow (Sask.) Christian Fellowship met for the last time. It was a hot, muggy day as some 60 people, including all the pastors since the church was built in 1962, reminisced and rejoiced over what God had done in the congregration's 65-year existence. Saskatchewan MB conference minister Ralph Gliege encouraged the congregation with a message from Exodus 3 and 4. "God is not a God of the past," he said, "He is a God of the moment. His name is I AM."

The Mennonite Brethren church of Elbow was founded in 1932 when Frank F. Wiens, a farmer, teacher and minister, organized a congregation. It included four or five MB families and about the same number of General Conference families. They met in homes until the old Berndt School was available to be used as a church building.

After the Wienses moved to B.C., the congregation invited visiting ministers from both denominations to serve on alternate Sundays.

The Mennonite Brethren members wanted more outreach into the community so, with the help of the Saskatchewan MB Conference, a church building was erected in the village of Elbow in 1962. Jake and Agnes Schmidt served as pastor couple for four years, until moving to Winnipeg.

The congregation next engaged David and Anita Esau as pastor couple. They served five years, and then transferred to Lashburn. In 1971 the congregation arranged for Henry and Lydia Dyck from Saskatoon to serve all Sundays except the third of each month, when John Heinrichs came to minister. When Dycks moved to Manitoba, John Heinrichs took over the whole service until 1988. Henry and Marie Loewen of Toronto moved to Elbow to retire. Instead of retiring, they served the congregation as well as the senior citizens of Elbow for the next nine years. Their health failed, and they retired to Saskatoon. This left the congregation with too few members to sustain it.

Over the years, the Elbow congregation has enjoyed many blessings and has also been able to serve through supporting missionaries and through community Bible studies. The response to the end of its history is one of gratitude for what God has done.

Church reporter Agnes Martens

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