From Generation to Generation, You are God
BMC Decade Description (1936 to 1946)
by Martha Braun
I am one of the fortunate ones! I was there at the first services in 1936, as a little girl, and I remember so many of those faithful people who responded to God’s call to start Bethel Church. One full acre of land was graciously donated by Mr. J. Krause, on which to build the Coghlan Mennonite Church, where the men sat on one side of the building and women on the other side. The first wedding occurred in 1939, the marriage of Otto & Meta Guggenheim. The first baptism was held in 1939 when 9 people from the congregation were baptized into Jesus Christ. In those days we girls were only allowed to wear black for the baptisms! Dan Peters, the husband of Katie Peters who is still a member here today, was amongst those included. Bethel’s first musical choir was organized by Rev. Aron Janzen, and they only sang accapella music. The Women’s Aid group met from the very beginning and one of their activities was the washing and bleaching of flour sacks, made into pillowcases for later sale at the annual auctions. The first deacons were appointed in 1939, Mr. John Siemens and 1943, Mr. Peter Dyck. In 1946 I remember that a basement was added to the church building. During that same year women were also given the right to vote at Annual Meetings of congregation! These were certainly exciting, yet tough times for our families as they did the work of pioneering this area. The war years were especially difficult because we struggled with being German-speaking people in Canada and many of our boys were faced with being conscripted into the army. The issue of conscientious objection, and all that meant to families, became one of the main issues of the day. Yet, through all of this, God remained faithful to us and provided for our needs. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1946 to 1956) by Heinz Borck
As the war came to an end, a sense of relief & new hope began to grip Canadians, and that included us. The land around Bethel Church was often give over very cheaply to those early settlers because the officials felt that nothing could ever grow on those lands! We were often requested to write letters of commitment stating that we would not request or accept “relief” from the government because our land decisions were so badly judged! To give you a sense of what is was like, the average family, by scrimping and saving, lived on $8.00 a month for food! Elder J.J. Regier was installed as the leading Minister in 1947 and received the grand sum of $300 per year as a token of appreciation. In 1948 our church began to grow significantly as a flood of new refugees came to our area after years of suffering under communist rule in the Ukraine. Many of the young, unmarried women would move to Vancouver and live in the home for girls (maidchenheim) close to First United Mennonite Church and worked in domestic service for established families in the big city! About this same time Waldemar (Wally) Janzen became the choir leader, a number of years before he married Emma! In 1950 a group that still exists and functions within our church today was established: Willing Helpers. Their task was defined by their name, especially to help in acts of mission in Canada and overseas. In 1951 the largest baptismal group – 23 – were baptized into Christ and there was great rejoicing in this event. In 1953 I started a time of service in the Sunday School ministry as Superintendent, which then turned into 25 years of ongoing care. We could not imagine what the future was going to hold for us, but as our families grew and we became Canadians we continually praised God for his goodness to us and we knew we had been blessed. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1956 to 1966) by Monika Epp
As our families grew and then began to marry, some within the Mennonite community and some not, our church became very large, more so than we had ever imagined! We started boys and girls clubs to help train the children in the church and also in the community. 1956 saw Elder N.N. Friesen became our leading Minister and Mr. Henry Redekop Sr. became a deacon. Our church building was sold for $1500 and moved on to what is now the property of Rose of Sharon Baptist Church and remains in regular use. In 1957 our new building, which is now the gymnasium, was dedicated to the worship of Jesus Christ. In that very room baptisms of women (now wearing white!) and men were celebrated as well as the ordination of Dr. John H. Neufeld to the ministry. (You may remember that he preached here at Bethel Church back in January of this year.) 1965 saw the largest SS attendance in the history of our church, 337 students. That same year Art Hooge and Gerry Harms became deacons and women received full voting rights as equal members. A girls club also started that year, Wayfarers, in which many girls participated. During that momentous year we also worked on and received a new church constitution that helped re-work a new structure of leadership. As the crops grew and the jobs were plentiful, our families struggled with the declining use of German, both in our homes and in the church. We had to make way for the inevitable use of English in worship though it still seemed strange to so many of us. God’s blessings during this time were meaningful and plentiful, proving himself to fulfill every promise in his word. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1966 to 1976) by Rosemarie Teichroeb
As we entered into 1966 we welcomed a fine, new young pastor, who spoke good English, Rev. Goerzen and his wife Kay. Rev. Goerzen was paid the princely sum of $4,800 to begin his ministry! Rev. N.N. Friesen remained on as an Assistant Pastor and Peter Dyck became our first congregational Chairman. The next year we saw the addition of the Sunday School wing, which now houses the youth room and the fellowship hall downstairs. About that same time a young mother, Mrs. Emma Janzen, started to play the organ and the piano on a regular basis and we enjoyed hearing her beautiful ministry in music… just like now! Shortly after that a new girls club was established, Pioneer Girls, which went on to be our club ministry for over 35 years. Not letting the girls get too far ahead, a boys ministry was established that became known as Christian Service Brigade. A further change to church leadership came to the congregation around 1970 when the deacons who, until that time were lifetime appointments, began to serve the church in the form of terms. My husband and I arrived at Bethel Church around that time, coming from Vancouver. Around the time of rev. Goerzen’s resignation in 1975 a young women, Darlene (Peters) Burdett regularly played the piano during our worship services. To close of this decade, Elder Art Regier became the interim pastor as we sought out a new pastor. More often than the years before, the churches in the Fraser Valley received new members moving out from the urban sprawl of Vancouver. We continued to grow and prosper during these times and our children established their own families often moving to faraway locations. God did not let us down during those years either. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1976 to 1986) by Peter Retzlaff
The year 1976 saw our arrival to Bethel Church as the Senior Pastor. As our family adjusted and settled in our daughter Rose started lifelong friendships with many girls in the congregation, Linda (Schmidt) Hoock being one of this “motley crew”. The challenges were many and the times did not lend themselves to easy answers. New music began to show its face in our lives often through the bespectacled, guitar playing Len Wiebe, introducing choruses to us that had not been heard before. Along with Henry Krause a large number of students were often found at a coffee house located just off 248th street and 54th avenue. It was so popular that the local paper sent off a reporter to check it out and found Len leading songs without a shirt on! During these years we had the joy of enlarging the fellowship hall and creating a new constitution to reflect the times we lived in. Around 1982 we hired a young, long-haired man to be our Youth Pastor, Mr. George Hoeppner along with his wife Dora and their four boys! Also in that time period a women’s group called the Dorcas Circle was established, and the next generation continued to integrate into the body as Heinz Borck Jr. became our choir leader. One of the most exciting occurrences through these years was the adoption of a refugee family from Vietnam, the Huangs, who brought us together in care for refugees, just like we had been so many years earlier. The Bethel Red Sox made their first appearance on the scene, led by the likes of Ken Redekop, Alan Dyck and many other luminaries of the day! We did still enjoy a German service, though somewhat smaller. The growth of the English service continued and became the main service we offered through these years. My ministry at Bethel came to an end in 1985 only to be followed sometime thereafter by the Rev. John Friesen. We could praise God for these good years because he continued the good work he promised to us many years before. Surely I can say, “From generation to generation, you are God.”
BMC Decade Description (1986 to 1996) by Peter Bartel
This time in the history of Bethel church was full of joys and challenges. The major challenge of the late 80’s was the building of this sanctuary we are in today and the further remodeling of what is now called the gym from being the previous sanctuary. Many hours, many dollars and much communal effort were invested into the creation of a modern, attractive worship space. John Friesen continued to faithfully pastor the church until 1990 when I with Alma arrived from the prairies. John was joined in ministry by a new youth pastor, Brad Jersak, who had earlier married one of Jake & Elinor Wiebe’s daughters, Edith. Brad’s ministry and team eventually brought 200+ students into our sanctuary on Wednesday nights, with another 50 or so taking over the parking lot, thereby creating many challenges to security and safety. One of those “parking lot kids”, now current deacon Lisa (Walraven) Wolgram, came to know Christ in a meaningful way. Many others came to experience Christ in a significant, life-changing manner. As well, during those years, Luiza Martens faithfully led the ministry of the choir and was appreciated by so many in the congregation. Mission also took on increasingly more importance to us during these years as we pledged to start a relationship of support with Pat & Rad Houmphan, missionaries to Thailand. The congregation also participated in mission efforts in Mexico, building a church in Tijuana. As well we were involved in establishing a Challenge Team for the first time. Due to the impact of lessening immigration, the aging of our parents and grandparents, and the inevitable integration of our children into the greater society, the number of Mennonites attending the Fraser Valley churches began to decline significantly about this time. However, in spite of the challenges of the time we could clearly affirm, “From generation to generation, you are God.”
BMC Decade Description (1996 to 2006) by Val Jarvie
The last ten years have proved to be just as interesting and challenging as the six decades that preceded it! George & Dora Hoeppner, deciding they liked it so much the first time around, returned to Bethel in the role of Senior Pastor in 1996. Within two years of George & Dora’s “second coming” Bethel chose one of our own to become the Youth Pastor, Allen Wiebe, alongside of him his wife Julie, all the way from Springsteen, MB. Allen is the son of Ernie & Greta Wiebe who came to Bethel church in the 1950’s. This period continued our uneasy growth into new forms of worship, as well as the decline of attendance in the German service. Another dynamic that showed its face during this time was the increasing appearance of names like Roche to accompany Reimer, Wadham & Wheaton to walk alongside Wiebe & Warkentin, Mulligan & Mattson to join with Martens, Imbenzi to match Isaak, Ganger to embrace Goerzen & Giesbrecht and even Jarvies to come beside Janzens! Pastor George & Dora’s ministry came to conclusion in 2003 after six years of faithful & visionary leadership, often through heavy waters and discouraging times. A new constitution was once again established to reflect a current & modern church that continues to serve the congregation well. The congregation also witnessed a transition to the format of worship teams leading the services alongside pastoral and other lay leaders in various forms. The congregation celebrated and supported sending a team in 2002 to extend the ministry of the Houmphan’s in Thailand. This experience was then repeated by sending a team of four women to the Borabur province, giving great joy to the membership once again. In 2003 the congregation extended a call to pastoral ministry to Philip & Carole Wheaton (did you say Wiebe?). This relationship was recently extended into the future by vote of the congregation. Through the ups and downs of this period we can truly say, “From generation to generation, you are God.”
by Martha Braun
I am one of the fortunate ones! I was there at the first services in 1936, as a little girl, and I remember so many of those faithful people who responded to God’s call to start Bethel Church. One full acre of land was graciously donated by Mr. J. Krause, on which to build the Coghlan Mennonite Church, where the men sat on one side of the building and women on the other side. The first wedding occurred in 1939, the marriage of Otto & Meta Guggenheim. The first baptism was held in 1939 when 9 people from the congregation were baptized into Jesus Christ. In those days we girls were only allowed to wear black for the baptisms! Dan Peters, the husband of Katie Peters who is still a member here today, was amongst those included. Bethel’s first musical choir was organized by Rev. Aron Janzen, and they only sang accapella music. The Women’s Aid group met from the very beginning and one of their activities was the washing and bleaching of flour sacks, made into pillowcases for later sale at the annual auctions. The first deacons were appointed in 1939, Mr. John Siemens and 1943, Mr. Peter Dyck. In 1946 I remember that a basement was added to the church building. During that same year women were also given the right to vote at Annual Meetings of congregation! These were certainly exciting, yet tough times for our families as they did the work of pioneering this area. The war years were especially difficult because we struggled with being German-speaking people in Canada and many of our boys were faced with being conscripted into the army. The issue of conscientious objection, and all that meant to families, became one of the main issues of the day. Yet, through all of this, God remained faithful to us and provided for our needs. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1946 to 1956) by Heinz Borck
As the war came to an end, a sense of relief & new hope began to grip Canadians, and that included us. The land around Bethel Church was often give over very cheaply to those early settlers because the officials felt that nothing could ever grow on those lands! We were often requested to write letters of commitment stating that we would not request or accept “relief” from the government because our land decisions were so badly judged! To give you a sense of what is was like, the average family, by scrimping and saving, lived on $8.00 a month for food! Elder J.J. Regier was installed as the leading Minister in 1947 and received the grand sum of $300 per year as a token of appreciation. In 1948 our church began to grow significantly as a flood of new refugees came to our area after years of suffering under communist rule in the Ukraine. Many of the young, unmarried women would move to Vancouver and live in the home for girls (maidchenheim) close to First United Mennonite Church and worked in domestic service for established families in the big city! About this same time Waldemar (Wally) Janzen became the choir leader, a number of years before he married Emma! In 1950 a group that still exists and functions within our church today was established: Willing Helpers. Their task was defined by their name, especially to help in acts of mission in Canada and overseas. In 1951 the largest baptismal group – 23 – were baptized into Christ and there was great rejoicing in this event. In 1953 I started a time of service in the Sunday School ministry as Superintendent, which then turned into 25 years of ongoing care. We could not imagine what the future was going to hold for us, but as our families grew and we became Canadians we continually praised God for his goodness to us and we knew we had been blessed. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1956 to 1966) by Monika Epp
As our families grew and then began to marry, some within the Mennonite community and some not, our church became very large, more so than we had ever imagined! We started boys and girls clubs to help train the children in the church and also in the community. 1956 saw Elder N.N. Friesen became our leading Minister and Mr. Henry Redekop Sr. became a deacon. Our church building was sold for $1500 and moved on to what is now the property of Rose of Sharon Baptist Church and remains in regular use. In 1957 our new building, which is now the gymnasium, was dedicated to the worship of Jesus Christ. In that very room baptisms of women (now wearing white!) and men were celebrated as well as the ordination of Dr. John H. Neufeld to the ministry. (You may remember that he preached here at Bethel Church back in January of this year.) 1965 saw the largest SS attendance in the history of our church, 337 students. That same year Art Hooge and Gerry Harms became deacons and women received full voting rights as equal members. A girls club also started that year, Wayfarers, in which many girls participated. During that momentous year we also worked on and received a new church constitution that helped re-work a new structure of leadership. As the crops grew and the jobs were plentiful, our families struggled with the declining use of German, both in our homes and in the church. We had to make way for the inevitable use of English in worship though it still seemed strange to so many of us. God’s blessings during this time were meaningful and plentiful, proving himself to fulfill every promise in his word. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1966 to 1976) by Rosemarie Teichroeb
As we entered into 1966 we welcomed a fine, new young pastor, who spoke good English, Rev. Goerzen and his wife Kay. Rev. Goerzen was paid the princely sum of $4,800 to begin his ministry! Rev. N.N. Friesen remained on as an Assistant Pastor and Peter Dyck became our first congregational Chairman. The next year we saw the addition of the Sunday School wing, which now houses the youth room and the fellowship hall downstairs. About that same time a young mother, Mrs. Emma Janzen, started to play the organ and the piano on a regular basis and we enjoyed hearing her beautiful ministry in music… just like now! Shortly after that a new girls club was established, Pioneer Girls, which went on to be our club ministry for over 35 years. Not letting the girls get too far ahead, a boys ministry was established that became known as Christian Service Brigade. A further change to church leadership came to the congregation around 1970 when the deacons who, until that time were lifetime appointments, began to serve the church in the form of terms. My husband and I arrived at Bethel Church around that time, coming from Vancouver. Around the time of rev. Goerzen’s resignation in 1975 a young women, Darlene (Peters) Burdett regularly played the piano during our worship services. To close of this decade, Elder Art Regier became the interim pastor as we sought out a new pastor. More often than the years before, the churches in the Fraser Valley received new members moving out from the urban sprawl of Vancouver. We continued to grow and prosper during these times and our children established their own families often moving to faraway locations. God did not let us down during those years either. From generation to generation, you are God.
BMC Decade Description (1976 to 1986) by Peter Retzlaff
The year 1976 saw our arrival to Bethel Church as the Senior Pastor. As our family adjusted and settled in our daughter Rose started lifelong friendships with many girls in the congregation, Linda (Schmidt) Hoock being one of this “motley crew”. The challenges were many and the times did not lend themselves to easy answers. New music began to show its face in our lives often through the bespectacled, guitar playing Len Wiebe, introducing choruses to us that had not been heard before. Along with Henry Krause a large number of students were often found at a coffee house located just off 248th street and 54th avenue. It was so popular that the local paper sent off a reporter to check it out and found Len leading songs without a shirt on! During these years we had the joy of enlarging the fellowship hall and creating a new constitution to reflect the times we lived in. Around 1982 we hired a young, long-haired man to be our Youth Pastor, Mr. George Hoeppner along with his wife Dora and their four boys! Also in that time period a women’s group called the Dorcas Circle was established, and the next generation continued to integrate into the body as Heinz Borck Jr. became our choir leader. One of the most exciting occurrences through these years was the adoption of a refugee family from Vietnam, the Huangs, who brought us together in care for refugees, just like we had been so many years earlier. The Bethel Red Sox made their first appearance on the scene, led by the likes of Ken Redekop, Alan Dyck and many other luminaries of the day! We did still enjoy a German service, though somewhat smaller. The growth of the English service continued and became the main service we offered through these years. My ministry at Bethel came to an end in 1985 only to be followed sometime thereafter by the Rev. John Friesen. We could praise God for these good years because he continued the good work he promised to us many years before. Surely I can say, “From generation to generation, you are God.”
BMC Decade Description (1986 to 1996) by Peter Bartel
This time in the history of Bethel church was full of joys and challenges. The major challenge of the late 80’s was the building of this sanctuary we are in today and the further remodeling of what is now called the gym from being the previous sanctuary. Many hours, many dollars and much communal effort were invested into the creation of a modern, attractive worship space. John Friesen continued to faithfully pastor the church until 1990 when I with Alma arrived from the prairies. John was joined in ministry by a new youth pastor, Brad Jersak, who had earlier married one of Jake & Elinor Wiebe’s daughters, Edith. Brad’s ministry and team eventually brought 200+ students into our sanctuary on Wednesday nights, with another 50 or so taking over the parking lot, thereby creating many challenges to security and safety. One of those “parking lot kids”, now current deacon Lisa (Walraven) Wolgram, came to know Christ in a meaningful way. Many others came to experience Christ in a significant, life-changing manner. As well, during those years, Luiza Martens faithfully led the ministry of the choir and was appreciated by so many in the congregation. Mission also took on increasingly more importance to us during these years as we pledged to start a relationship of support with Pat & Rad Houmphan, missionaries to Thailand. The congregation also participated in mission efforts in Mexico, building a church in Tijuana. As well we were involved in establishing a Challenge Team for the first time. Due to the impact of lessening immigration, the aging of our parents and grandparents, and the inevitable integration of our children into the greater society, the number of Mennonites attending the Fraser Valley churches began to decline significantly about this time. However, in spite of the challenges of the time we could clearly affirm, “From generation to generation, you are God.”
BMC Decade Description (1996 to 2006) by Val Jarvie
The last ten years have proved to be just as interesting and challenging as the six decades that preceded it! George & Dora Hoeppner, deciding they liked it so much the first time around, returned to Bethel in the role of Senior Pastor in 1996. Within two years of George & Dora’s “second coming” Bethel chose one of our own to become the Youth Pastor, Allen Wiebe, alongside of him his wife Julie, all the way from Springsteen, MB. Allen is the son of Ernie & Greta Wiebe who came to Bethel church in the 1950’s. This period continued our uneasy growth into new forms of worship, as well as the decline of attendance in the German service. Another dynamic that showed its face during this time was the increasing appearance of names like Roche to accompany Reimer, Wadham & Wheaton to walk alongside Wiebe & Warkentin, Mulligan & Mattson to join with Martens, Imbenzi to match Isaak, Ganger to embrace Goerzen & Giesbrecht and even Jarvies to come beside Janzens! Pastor George & Dora’s ministry came to conclusion in 2003 after six years of faithful & visionary leadership, often through heavy waters and discouraging times. A new constitution was once again established to reflect a current & modern church that continues to serve the congregation well. The congregation also witnessed a transition to the format of worship teams leading the services alongside pastoral and other lay leaders in various forms. The congregation celebrated and supported sending a team in 2002 to extend the ministry of the Houmphan’s in Thailand. This experience was then repeated by sending a team of four women to the Borabur province, giving great joy to the membership once again. In 2003 the congregation extended a call to pastoral ministry to Philip & Carole Wheaton (did you say Wiebe?). This relationship was recently extended into the future by vote of the congregation. Through the ups and downs of this period we can truly say, “From generation to generation, you are God.”