General Conference Mennonite Church
Encyclopedia
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
congregations based in North America from 1860 to 2002. The conference was formed in 1860 when congregations in Iowa invited North American Mennonites to join together in order to pursue common goals such as higher education and mission work. The conference was especially attractive to recent Mennonite and Amish immigrants to North America and expanded considerably when thousands of Russian Mennonites arrived in North America starting in the 1870s. Conference offices were located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and North Newton, Kansas. The conference supported a seminary and several colleges. In the 1990s the conference had 64,431 members in 410 congregations in Canada, the United States and South America. After decades of cooperation with the Mennonite Church, the two groups reorganized into Mennonite Church Canada
Mennonite Church Canada
Mennonite Church Canada is the conference of Mennonites in Canada, with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba.The first Mennonites in Canada arrived from Pennsylvania in 1786. The majority of the Mennonites that migrated to Canada over the next 150 years came directly from Europe...
in 2000 and Mennonite Church USA
Mennonite Church USA
The Mennonite Church USA, or MCUSA, is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Radical Reformation of the 16th century...
in 2002.
Background
Mennonites first came to North America as early as 1644. The first permanent settlement was in the Germantown, PennsylvaniaGermantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...
area when a group of 34 Mennonites and Quakers from Krefeld, Germany
Krefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
arrived in 1683. A total of 4000 Mennonites and 200 Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
, a closely related group, settled in eastern Pennsylvania by the 1820s. This group tended to separate from their neighbors because of refusal to participate in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, opposition to public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
and rejection of religious revivalism.
In the first half of the 19th century new waves of emigration and migration brought thousands of Mennonites to Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. By the 1860s Mennonites were found in Missouri and Iowa. The recent arrivals from Europe tended to be more educated than the eastern Pennsylvania group and had adopted new ideas and practices.
These various groups of Mennonites were loosely organized. The settlements west of Pennsylvania were scattered and had difficulty communicating with each other. A concern arose independently among these congregations for a way to connect and organize families that were scattered from Ontario to the American frontier.
Franconia Conference
By 1769 a group of 22 Mennonite congregations in eastern Pennsylvania had organized Franconia ConferenceFranconia Mennonite Conference
Franconia Mennonite Conference is a regional conference of Mennonite Church USA based in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, with 42 congregations in Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and Vermont, 23 conference related ministries, and 12 partners in mission...
. Member congregations sent representatives to regular meetings where policy and membership issues were discussed and decided. Decisions were based on Biblical interpretation. The group felt no need for a written constitution and no meeting minutes were recorded.
In 1842 John H. Oberholtzer
John H. Oberholtzer
John H. Oberholtzer was a North American Mennonite leader who advocated for Mennonite cooperation for the purpose of higher education and mission work...
became a minister within the Franconia Conference and shortly thereafter a bishop. In this role he attended the conference sessions. As a schoolteacher and locksmith, he had greater contact with the outside world than other ministers. Early on he resisted the expectation of ministers to wear a particular style of colonial coat, preferring more contemporary attire. Observing the process the more conservative members of the conference used to apply pressure to bring him in line with their expectations, it was evident to him that a clear set of rules and a fair process would be better for the conference than relying on arbitrary interpretation of scripture passages.
At a subsequent conference session Oberholtzer proposed a set of guidelines, a minimal constitution, for the organization and suggested that minutes of meetings be recorded so that decisions would be documented. When a majority of the more influential members of the conference refused to let him even present his proposal, or distribute a printed copy, a rift developed among the conference delegates.
East Pennsylvania Conference
After attempts to reconcile the two groups failed, Oberholtzer and about a quarter of the members formed a new group, the East Pennsylvania Conference. Oberholtzer purchased a hand printing press in 1851 and set it up in his locksmith shop. He began publishing Der Religiöse Botschafter (the Religious Messenger) with a circulation of 400, the first successful Mennonite periodical in North America. The financial burden and the demands on his time ended the operation after three years. In 1856, with funding from 92 shareholders, the Mennonite Printing Union was organized and printing resumed with a periodical named Das Christliche Volksblatt. Besides the periodical, books and other material were printed at this new facility. Oberholtzer's contribution as publisher and editor was to have significant influence on Mennonites in North America.Through wide circulation of his paper, visits to Mennonites in Ontario and Ohio and correspondence with Mennonites in Europe, Oberholtzer begin developing a network of contacts with shared interests. These Mennonites were more open to interaction with other Christians and were interested in education and mission work. Volksblatt published reports from among the scattered North American Mennonites and from the more educated Mennonites in Europe.
Oberholtzer was particularly interested in organizing Mennonites in Ohio, Ontario and Pennsylvania for the purpose of ministering to Mennonite families scattered throughout the region. He proposed a union based on a basic set of ideals: the doctrine of salvation in Christ, the sacraments, good works and freedom in externals. Although formal organization did not materialize, this type of cooperation was an ongoing theme in Volksblatt.
Organizing and gathering
In the 1850s the Mennonite congregations of Franklin Center and West Point in Lee County, IowaLee County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 35,862 in the county, with a population density of . There were 16,205 housing units, of which 14,610 were occupied.-2000 census:...
adopted a common constitution in order to cooperate in various projects, stressing the desire to preserve the religious faith of the small frontier groups of Mennonites. At their 1859 conference meeting a resolution was adopted to invite North American Mennonites to join this union in order to promote home and foreign missions. This invitation was extended to all Mennonites and published in Volksblatt.
At a meeting the following year, four individual from outside the local congregations attended the gathering, including one from Ontario and Oberholtzer from Pennsylvania. An association of Mennonite congregations was proposed that would accept any congregation, regardless of other connections, that held a basic set of Mennonite beliefs: baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, non-swearing of oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
s and the authority of Scripture. Complete freedom was to be permitted in all matters not explicitly taught in the Scriptures. Although Mennonite beliefs such as rejection of violence were not specifically mentioned, these were assumed to be covered by the authority of Scripture.
| In essentials unity, |
|---|
| in nonessentials liberty, |
| in all things love. |
Agreement in essentials and freedom in nonessentials was the formula for uniting congregations that varied widely in custom and practice. This formal organizational meeting on 29 May 1860 is considered the beginning of the General Conference Mennonite Church. The minutes of the meeting refer to the group as Conference Minutes of the General Mennonite Community of North America (translated from German).
The group resolved to organize a mission society, establish a training school for Christian workers, form a historical society and print tracts. Daniel Hege was appointed to travel among Mennonite communities in the United States and Canada to promote cooperation for mission work and education.
Higher education
Through the contacts made by Hege in the year after the 1860 meeting, other Mennonite communities became interested in the new conference. The East Pennsylvania group joined the conference in 1861, shortly after Hege's visit. Hege also raised nearly $6000 for the proposed school. Within ten years the General Conference had 1500 members from 20 congregations.Plans to create a school for training pastors and missionaries proceeded rapidly. A site was chosen in Wadsworth, Ohio and the school was constructed and dedicated in 1866. Wadsworth Institute
Wadsworth Institute
Wadsworth Institute was a Mennonite seminary in Wadsworth, Ohio, from 1868 to 1878. Officially named Christian Educational Institution of the Mennonite Denomination, it accepted men aged 18 to 35 for a three-year program centering around biblical studies and other topics relevant to training...
was opened on 2 January 1868 with twenty-four students enrolled in a three-year program of study. Wadsworth was the first Mennonite institution of higher learning in North America and trained a generation of church leaders. The school operated for eleven years before it fell into financial difficulty. The conference had several other competing concerns, including supporting mission work and resettling thousands of Mennonite immigrants from Russia who started arriving in the 1870s.
Newton, Kansas
Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 19,132. Newton is located north of Wichita and is included in the Wichita metropolitan statistical area...
in a school building associated with Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church
Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church
The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church of Goessel, Kansas is a congregation affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The congregation has a continuous history dating from 16th century Europe.-Background:...
. The school was moved to Halstead, Kansas
Halstead, Kansas
Halstead is a city in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. Halstead was named in honor of Murat Halstead, a respected Civil War correspondent and newspaper editor. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,085.-History:...
where a new building was dedicated on 16 September 1883 as Halstead Seminary. The transformation of the Halstead school to a college began in 1887 when Bethel College Corporation was granted a charter. The school was closed for the 1892–1893 school year while preparations were made to relocate it to North Newton, Kansas
North Newton, Kansas
North Newton is a city in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,759. The city of Newton is located next to the city, but it not part of North Newton. North Newton is home of Bethel College, which has approximately 500 students.-Geography:North...
where it opened as Bethel College
Bethel College (Kansas)
Bethel College is a private college affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is located on the edge of the Flint Hills and the vast wheat fields of south central Kansas in the town of North Newton...
in 1893. Other schools followed: Mennonite Collegiate Institute (Gretna, Manitoba
Gretna, Manitoba
Gretna is a town in south-central Manitoba, Canada. It is located just north of the Canada - United States border on PTH 30. As of 2006, the population of Gretna was 574. It is bordered on the west, north, and east by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. On the south it is bordered by Pembina...
, 1899), Mennonite Central College (Bluffton, Ohio
Bluffton, Ohio
Bluffton is a village in Allen and Hancock counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It had a population of 3,896 at the 2000 census. Bluffton is home to Bluffton University, a four-year educational institution affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. Bluffton is served by the Bluffton general aviation...
, 1898; now Bluffton University
Bluffton University
Bluffton University, located in Bluffton, Ohio, United States, is a Christian liberal arts college affiliated with Mennonite Church USA.It was founded in 1899 as Central Mennonite College and became Bluffton College in 1913...
), Freeman Junior College (Freeman, South Dakota
Freeman, South Dakota
Freeman is a city in Hutchinson County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,306 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, 1903–1986), English-German Academy (Rosthern, Saskatchewan
Rosthern, Saskatchewan
Rosthern is a town at the juncture of Highway 11 and Highway 312 in the central area of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between the cities of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.-History:...
, 1905) which became Rosthern Junior College (1946), Bethel Bible Institute (Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
, 1939), which joined with Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute to become Columbia Bible Institute (now Columbia Bible College
Columbia Bible College (Abbotsford, British Columbia)
Columbia Bible College is an institution of higher education in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The college states that its mission is to prepare people for a life of discipleship, service and ministry...
) in 1970, and Canadian Mennonite Bible College (Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1947) which combined with Concord College and Menno Simons College in 2000 to become Canadian Mennonite University
Canadian Mennonite University
Canadian Mennonite University is a Christian university located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that awards three and four-year degrees in a variety of programs...
.
In 1914 Mennonite Central College was reorganized into Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary. The seminary was renamed Witmarsum Theological Seminary in 1921 and provided training for church workers until it was closed in 1931. In 1945 Mennonite Biblical Seminary was started in Chicago, Illinois. The seminary was affiliated with Bethany Biblical Seminary
Bethany Theological Seminary
Bethany Theological Seminary is the graduate school and academy for theological education for the Church of the Brethren. Bethany, located in Richmond, Indiana, is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Higher Learning Commission of the North...
, a Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination originating from the Schwarzenau Brethren organized in 1708 by eight persons led by Alexander Mack, in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Radical Pietist and Anabaptist ideas during the...
institution. In 1958 Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary is an accredited Christian seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, affiliated with Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA....
was formed when the seminary joined with Goshen College
Goshen College
Goshen College, is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana, USA with an enrollment of around 1,000 students. The college is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...
Biblical Seminary, a Mennonite Church school in Goshen, Indiana
Goshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
. An Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
site was chosen as a neutral location between the two previous schools. Originally planned as two separate institutions sharing common facilities, the seminary functioned in practice as a single school after the first decade.
Mission work
A missionMission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
board was formed shortly after the 1860 creation of the conference. Its initial work consisted primarily of promoting missions and collecting funds. The mission board explored sending mission workers to Java under an existing program of European Mennonites. When it became clear that the Europeans were not interested in working jointly with the new conference, the board decided to focus on working independently of existing mission organizations.
The first mission worker, Samuel S. Haury, was sent to Darlington and Cantonment in Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(later Oklahoma) in 1880 to work among the Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
. He was followed in 1884 by Henry R. Voth
Henry Voth
Heinrich Richert Voth was an ethnographer and Mennonite missionary and minister. He was born in Alexanderwohl, Southern Russia...
. Voth moved to Arizona in 1893 to start work with the Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
. Rudolphe Petter spent fifteen years in Indian Territory and then worked with the Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
in Montana for the rest of his life.
The first mission workers sent overseas were Elizabeth and Peter A. Penner of Mountain Lake, Minnesota
Mountain Lake, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,082 people, 817 households, and 531 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,540.3 people per square mile . There were 896 housing units at an average density of 662.9 per square mile...
along with J. F. and Susanna Kroeker, arriving in Bombay 9 December 1900, to start work in India. Schoolteacher Annie C. Funk arrived in India in 1906, becoming the first single woman Mennonite mission worker. Funk returned home on her first furlough in 1912 on RMS Titanic, losing her life when she gave up her seat on the last lifeboat to a mother with children. Henry J. Brown, another worker from Mountain Lake, was the first conference missionary in China. Arriving in December 1909 without formal support, his work was approved by the conference in 1914. Later areas of work included Taiwan, Japan, Zaire, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, and Costa Rica.
Another aspect of outreach was home missions, which began among scattered Mennonite communities in North America that were without pastoral leadership. This work was expanded to working with Mennonites in Mexico and South America. City missions were developed in Los Angeles, Chicago, Altoona (Pennsylvania) and Hutchinson (Kansas). Patterned after the work of other denominations, preaching, home visitation, Sunday Schools and work with children were emphasized.
District conferences
The congregations of the General Conference Mennonite Church were organized into provincial conferences in Canada and five area conferences in the United States. Nearly all congregations were associated with an area conference while a few were members of the General Conference directly. In the 1990s the conference had 64,431 members in 410 congregations in Canada, the United States and South America.
The Pacific District Conference was organized in 1896. By 1999 the southern part had joined with the Southwest Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church to become the Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference, which consisted of 56 congregations in Mexico, Arizona, California and Florida. The northern part joined with Pacific Coast Conference of the Mennonite Church to become the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, which had 32 congregations in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
The Central District Conference was formed in 1956 by combining Central Illinois Mennonite Conference and former Middle District. The Central Illinois Conference was made up of twenty congregations of Amish descent that joined the General Conference in 1946. In 1999 the Central District had 67 congregations in Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Michigan.
The Conference of Mennonites in Canada was an organization of Canadian churches that related to the General Conference Mennonite Church. The Canadian conference was itself divided into separate conferences for British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. About a quarter of the congregations within these area conferences chose not to affiliate with the General Conference, a pattern in contrast to the United States conferences where almost all area conference congregations were also General Conference members.
The Canadian conference began as the Conference of Mennonites in Middle Canada and was created 1903 to help Bergthaler Mennonites
Bergthal Colony
The Bergthal Colony was a Mennonite settlement in the southern part of the former Russian Empire, now Ukraine that emigrated to Manitoba, Canada....
who were moving west from Manitoba, many to the Rosthern, Saskatchewan area. Bergthalers were originally from five entire villages of Russian Mennonites who had all migrated together. They were a more conservative group who preferred to run their own affairs, including schools.
One of earliest activities was to provide and coordinate training for teachers. Mennonite Collegiate Institute
Mennonite Collegiate Institute
Mennonite Collegiate Institute is a private high school located in Gretna, Manitoba. It has approximately 155 students from grade 9 to 12, teaching the curriculum requirements of Manitoba Education within an Christian/Anabaptist setting. Its main purpose is to serve Mennonite students but...
(Gretna, Manitoba
Gretna, Manitoba
Gretna is a town in south-central Manitoba, Canada. It is located just north of the Canada - United States border on PTH 30. As of 2006, the population of Gretna was 574. It is bordered on the west, north, and east by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. On the south it is bordered by Pembina...
, 1899) was soon followed by Mennonite Educational Institute
Mennonite Educational Institute
Mennonite Educational Institute is an independent school consisting of four day schools — a preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school — in the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada...
(Altona, Manitoba
Altona, Manitoba
Altona is a predominantly Mennonite town in southern Manitoba about 100 km south-west of Winnipeg and 133 km north of Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. Much of the surrounding area is devoted to farming and agriculture-based business. Its...
) and the German-English Academy, now Rosthern Junior College
Rosthern Junior College
Rosthern Junior College, an independent high school, has been a landmark institution in the town of Rosthern, Saskatchewan, Canada since 1905. Opening in that year as the German-English Academy, it was founded by Mennonite settlers in response to a need for trained teachers to work in the schools...
(Rosthern, Saskatchewan
Rosthern, Saskatchewan
Rosthern is a town at the juncture of Highway 11 and Highway 312 in the central area of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between the cities of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.-History:...
, 1905). Strong support for schools continued through the history of the conference, which by the 1990s included these additional schools: Canadian Mennonite Bible College (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Columbia Bible College
Columbia Bible College (Abbotsford, British Columbia)
Columbia Bible College is an institution of higher education in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The college states that its mission is to prepare people for a life of discipleship, service and ministry...
(Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
), Conrad Grebel University College
Conrad Grebel University College
Conrad Grebel University College is affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The college is owned by Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and named for early Anabaptist leader Conrad Grebel...
(Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
), Swift Current Bible Institute (Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Swift Current is a small city in southwest Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway west from Moose Jaw, and east from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current grew 0.8% between 2001 and 2006 ending up at 14,946 residents. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Swift...
), United Mennonite Education Institute (Leamington, Ontario
Leamington, Ontario
Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, southern Ontario, Canada, and has a population of 31,113. It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada. It has a large H. J. Heinz Company factory and is known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", with 4 km² of this crop in the...
) and Westgate Mennonite Collegiate
Westgate Mennonite Collegiate
Westgate Mennonite Collegiate is a 7-12 Mennonite private school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.-Mission Statement:Westgate Mennonite Collegiate is a Christian school grounded in the Anabaptist tradition. It is the mission of the school to provide a well-rounded education that will inspire and...
(Winnipeg, Manitoba).
From 1923 to 1930 an additional 21,000 Mennonites arrived in Canada from Russia. The Canadian Board of Mennonite Colonization borrowed 1.9 million dollars to aid in the resettlement of these new immigrants. Many of these arrivals were settled on farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan. This group of Mennonites tended to be more urbanized and better educated than the Canadian Mennonites, and were drawn to Canada's cities. Winnipeg, Manitoba became the city with the largest population of Mennonites. After World War II 8000 more Russian Mennonites came to Canada.
| Conference of Mennonite in Canada 1999 Membership | ||
|---|---|---|
| Congregations | Members | Conference |
| 18 | 2,165 | Conference of Mennonites in Alberta |
| 35 | 4,371 | Conference of Mennonites in British Columbia |
| 51 | 10,557 | Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba |
| 40 | 4,646 | Conference of Mennonites of Saskatchewan |
| 94 | 13,507 | Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada |
Expansion and programs
The initial conference goals of education and mission work were well under way by the 1920s. World War II brought new challenges. Conscientious objectorConscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s from Canadian congregations were serving in Alternative Service projects, primarily in western Canada and then later closer to home on farms and in industry. In the United States, 828 men (almost 50 percent of those drafted) from General Conference churches served in Civilian Public Service
Civilian Public Service
The Civilian Public Service provided conscientious objectors in the United States an alternative to military service during World War II...
(CPS). The conference raised $500,000 over six years to pay for its share of the program as it cooperated with other peace churches
Peace churches
Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: Church of the Brethren, Mennonites including the Amish, and Religious Society of Friends and has...
in the administration of CPS. The CPS experience created a generation of church leaders and continued an ongoing process of inter-Mennonite cooperation.
In addition to the creation of a new seminary, the post-war years saw the expansion of existing work and new projects. Work on the Mennonite Encyclopedia was started in 1946 in cooperation with the Mennonite Church. The goal was to complete the German Mennonitisches Lexikon and then translate and rewrite it into a suitable English version. The first volume was completed in 1955 and the fourth volume of the 3827 page work in 1959. A fifth supplementary volume was produced in 1990 with new and updated information.
| Mission Statement |
|---|
| God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace, so that God's healing and hope flow through us to the world. |
| Adopted 1995. |
Throughout its history, the General Conference Mennonite Church organizational structure was divided among various committees and boards. Around 1970 the boards were reorganized into commissions, including Commission on Education to oversee various educational activities and interests, Commission on Home Ministries which worked with mission activities in North America such as church planting and helping other Mennonite groups in Central and South America, Commission on Overseas Mission which dealt with overseas mission activities, Higher Education Council which worked with Mennonite colleges, Faith & Life Press which was the publishing and printing agency of the conference, Ministerial Leadership Services which worked with ministerial leadership and congregations and Division of General Services which oversaw the financial and business aspects of running the conference. Conference offices were maintained in Winnipeg, Manitoba and North Newton, Kansas. The conference printed two periodicals: the Mennonite and Der Bote, which reached ninety percent of members' homes
Political involvement
Mennonites in North America originally avoided political involvement if possible. This began to gradually change among General Conference Mennonites. Immigrants from Russia were slow to become citizens citing reservations over implied responsibilities, specifically military service. Those that began the naturalizationNaturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
process did so to participate at local polls and in national elections. In the United States, the Mennonite vote was split among the major political parties until 1940 when it predominantly favored the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Philanthropist Jacob A. Schowalter
Jacob A. Schowalter
Jacob Abraham Schowalter was a Kansas farmer, business owner and Mennonite philanthropist whose estate formed the basis of the Schowalter Foundation....
(1879–1953) was an early Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
officeholder but it would be two decades before academics and church leaders began emphasizing social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
and peace-related ideals that more closely aligned with the Democratic Party, with a corresponding shift in voting patterns.
One of the first Mennonites to become politically involved was Peter Jansen
Peter Jansen
Peter Jansen was a Beatrice, Nebraska sheep rancher and Nebraska state representative and senator.-Russia:Jansen was born on 21 March 1852 in Berdiansk, a port city on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov in Tsarist Russia where his family had a grain exporting business...
(1852-1923) a sheep rancher from rural Beatrice, Nebraska
Beatrice, Nebraska
Beatrice is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska.Beatrice is located south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River. It is surrounded by agricultural country. The population was 12,459 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. Upon arriving from Russia in 1873, he met with President Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
who was interested in the proposed immigration of Mennonites from Russia. Jansen was impressed by the contrast between the pomp and glitter of Russian officialdom and the practicality he found in Washington. From that point, Jansen took an interest in politics and supported causes he felt would better his adopted country. He participated in county and state Republican conventions. Jansen was elected alternate delegate to the 1884 Republican National Convention
United States presidential election, 1884
The United States presidential election of 1884 saw the first election of a Democrat as President of the United States since the election of 1856. New York Governor Grover Cleveland narrowly defeated Republican former United States Senator James G. Blaine of Maine to break the longest losing streak...
and was a delegate-at-large to the 1896 convention
1896 Republican National Convention
The 1896 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in a temporary structure south of the St. Louis City Hall in Saint Louis, Missouri, from June 16 to June 18, 1896....
that nominated William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
.
Jansen did not seek political office for himself, but in 1880 his neighbors elected him justice of the peace. Later he served as Nebraska state representative
Nebraska Legislature
The Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County....
and then state senator. He turned down nomination for Governor of Nebraska
Governor of Nebraska
The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full...
because of the position's requirement to enforce the death penalty. In 1900 President McKinley appointed Jansen as one of twelve commissioners to the Paris World's Fair
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
. In 1901 he represented Nebraska at the state funeral of McKinley.
One reason for early alignment with the Republican Party was self-interest in keeping commodity prices high. The Daniel Unruh (1820–1893) family produced grain and wool in Turner County, South Dakota
Turner County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,849 people, 3,510 households, and 2,478 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile . There were 3,852 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
. As a result of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 the price of wool was so low that it just covered the cost of shipment to Chicago. As with other Mennonite farmers, Unruh's sons became strong supporters of high tariffs favored by the Republican Party.
By 1900 General Conference Mennonites were regularly voting in national elections. Pastor Andrew B. Shelly (1834-1913) openly and proudly wore the Republican lapel. His son was the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
and chairman of the Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
Republican Committee. Shelly was rumored to have told his congregation to vote for Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
in the 1908 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1908
The United States presidential election of 1908 was held on November 3, 1908. Popular incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt, honoring a promise not to seek a third term, persuaded the Republican Party to nominate William Howard Taft, his close friend and Secretary of War, to become his successor...
. Shelly denied this in a front-page article in the Quakertown (Pennsylvania)
Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Quakertown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 8,979. The borough is south of Bethlehem and north of Philadelphia, making Quakertown a border town of both the Delaware Valley and Lehigh Valley metropolitan areas...
Free Press.
The influence of evangelist turned politician Gerald B. Winrod
Gerald B. Winrod
Gerald Burton Winrod was a pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic evangelist, author, and political activist.-Biography:...
among Kansas Mennonites in the 1930s is indicative of a shift toward right-wing patriotism that gained popularity among Mennonites at that time. The influence of Christian fundamentalism and corresponding wariness of modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
combined with Mennonite self-reliance produced an anti-Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
reaction by 1940 that put General Conference Mennonites solidly behind Republican candidates for several decades.
Cooperation and reorganization
Starting in the 1940s the General Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church worked on several cooperative projects. Among these were Civilian Public Service and Mennonite Central CommitteeMennonite Central Committee
The Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...
, which oversaw the Mennonite part of the CPS. In the 1950s the two groups created Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary together. Joint hymnal projects were completed in 1969 (The Mennonite Hymnal) and 1992 (Hymnal a Worshipbook). A joint Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective was completed in 1995.
Another force in the movement towards uniting the two groups was simultaneously happening at the grassroots level. As Mennonites moved from rural areas, they formed new urban congregations, bringing together people from both denominations. These congregations would then seek affiliation in area conferences of both denominations. By the 1990s there were dozens of these dual-affiliated congregations. As cooperation between the two groups increased, overlapping area conferences began looking at ways to work together and plan for an inevitable merger.
The increasing cooperation occurred in parallel with discussions about joining the two groups. Starting in 1983, the two groups met together in joint delegate sessions from time to time. By 1989 an intentional effort was underway to devise a plan for merging the two organizations, which culminated in a 1999 delegate session where a new joint structure was approved. The transformation was completed soon thereafter in Canada and by 2002 in the United States. The two groups, General Conference Mennonite Church (GCMC) and Mennonite Church (MC), became two new national groups: Mennonite Church Canada
Mennonite Church Canada
Mennonite Church Canada is the conference of Mennonites in Canada, with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba.The first Mennonites in Canada arrived from Pennsylvania in 1786. The majority of the Mennonites that migrated to Canada over the next 150 years came directly from Europe...
and Mennonite Church USA
Mennonite Church USA
The Mennonite Church USA, or MCUSA, is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Radical Reformation of the 16th century...
.
| GCMC Area Conference | Joined With MC Area Conference | To Form |
|---|---|---|
| United Mennonite Churches in Ontario | Mennonite Conference of Ontario and Quebec Western Ontario Mennonite Conference |
Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada |
| Northern District | Iowa-Nebraska | Central Plains Mennonite Conference Some Montana congregations join North Central Conference. |
| (Northern) Pacific District | Pacific Coast | Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference |
| (Southern) Pacific District | Southwest | Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference |
| Central District | Remains Central District Conference, overlapping Illinois, Indiana-Michigan and Ohio Conferences Some western Illinois congregations join Central Plains. |
|
| Eastern District | Remains Eastern District Conference with some congregations switching affiliation to nearby conferences. |
|
| Western District | Remains Western District Conference Two Colorado congregations join Mountain States Conference, formed in 2005. |
|
External links
- General Conference Mennonite Church in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online