Mennonite Church Canada

Canadian Council of Churches

The Mennonite Church Canada is an association of Mennonite communities in Canada. The church is a relatively young church. It was formed in 2000 from the Association of Mennonite Church with the General Conference Mennonite Church.

History

The first Mennonites arrived in 1786 in Canada. They came mainly from Pennsylvania, where at the end of the 17th century had settled German, Dutch and Swiss Mennonites (see also Mennonite emigration ). The Mennonite Church goes directly back to this central European immigrants of the 17th and 18th centuries. The General Conference Mennonite Church was founded in 1860 by Mennonite communities in the U.S. Iowa. Your subsequently joined by mainly to North America emigrated Russian Mennonites. Both churches were represented throughout North America. Decided in 1995, both churches the union. There should be one Mennonite Church in the United States and Canada. Thus was founded in 2000, the Mennonite Church Canada and in 2002, the Mennonite Church USA. Both sister churches are represented in the Mennonite World Conference. As a symbol of both churches use a dove with an olive branch, which is reminiscent of the Biblical story of Noah's ark.

The hymn book used in the churches of the Church Hymnal: A Worship Book of 1992 originated in an ecumenical co-operation with the U.S. Church of the Brethren. 2005 and 2007 appeared to Sing the Journey and Sing The Story two supplementary bands. The first volume focuses thematically on the time between Pentecost and Advent, the second to the time of Advent to Easter.

Organization and statistics

The Mennonite Church Canada consists of five regional associations (regional conferences ) in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and eastern Canada. In 2008, the church had about 33,000 members (excluding children and friends ).

At the Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, which emerged from the union of three colleges in 1998, 2008, approximately 1600 students were enrolled. The three colleges were the Canadian Mennonite Bible College in 1947, the Concord College, which was formed in 1944 as Mennonite Brethren Bible College and Menno Simons College in 1988.