The River East Mennonite Brethren congregation in Winnipeg, Manitoba began services in 1962, and formally organized in 1963. It started when Jacob Ens befriended Japanese families and began Sunday School classes for the children because they did not know German -- the language of all the Mennonite Brethren churches in the area. The classes grew and soon the parents requested that worship services be held. Initially services were held in a school and the group was known as the Princess Margaret Fellowship. In 1962, the leadership committee was asked if it was possible to organize a church. Many people in the congregation were part of the North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church. Five couples from the mother church were released to organize this new congregation.

In 1963, the congregation had a chartering service and renamed themselves the Springfield Heights Mennonite Brethren Church. In 1964, Sunday School was held in the school for the last time before moving to their new building. To avoid confusion with the Springfield Heights Mennonite Church, the name changed in 1964 to McLeod Avenue Mennonite Brethren and later that same year to River East Mennonite Brethren.

In 1965 there were 179 members; in 1985, 328; in 1995, 187; in 2000, 197. The congregation has been affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba (1963-    ), Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1963-    ) and the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (1963-). The language of worship is English.

The leaders of the church have included: Ernest A. Isaac (1965-1973), John B. Epp (1976-1987), Norm Neufeld (1988-1990), Karen Heidebrecht Thiessen (1990-2000), Christine Longhurst (2000-2006), Wesley Toews (2000-2001), Connie Epp (2000-    ), Gerry Derksen (2001-    )

The congregation's address is 755 McLeod Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2K 0B8; Phone: (204) 663-5096.

Bibliography

Additional Information

River East Mennonite Brethren Church

©1996-2010 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.