Mennonite Church Canada

Mennonite Church Canada (MC Canada) is one of a number of Mennonite groups in Canada. Together with Mennonite Church USA it forms the Mennonite Church. The historical roots of MC Canada reach back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century when several groups and individuals pressed for radical reform and were often referred to as Anabaptists. Their teachings included separation of church and state, believers baptism, and pacifism. After a period of persecution and scattering, the movement drew together under the leadership of Menno Simons, and eventually adopted the name Mennonite.

The formation of MC Canada was the culmination of a process that began in July 1989 with the decision of two North American church bodies—the Mennonite Church (MC) and General Conference Mennonite Church (GC)—to explore integration. Discussions included the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (CMC), which had congregational and conference ties to the MC and GC bodies. A recommendation to proceed with integration was accepted at Wichita in 1995, with the stipulation that the CMC should be consulted at every step. Intensive consultation followed with the Canadian membership, whereupon proposals were brought to joint GC and CMC sessions in Winnipeg in 1997 and then to a meeting of all three delegate groups—CMC, GC and MC—at a joint assembly in St. Louis in 1999. At the St. Louis assembly, delegates adopted recommendations that led to the formation of MC Canada and MC USA, along with guidelines for partnership between these two denominations.

At annual sessions of the CMC in Lethbridge (2000) and Abbotsford (2001), a new constitution and by-laws were accepted and structures adopted. The birth of MC Canada occurred officially with two decisions in 2001—the passing of the Act of Incorporation by the Canadian government in June of 2001 and the acceptance of the new bylaws by the delegate body in July of 2001. Implementation of the new structures culminated in February of 2002.

In 2004 MC Canada was composed of about 235 local congregations with about 35,000 members (organized into five area conferences—Mennonite Church British Columbia, Mennonite Church Alberta, Mennonite Church Saskatchewan, Mennonite Church Manitoba, and the Mennonite Church Eastern Canada). Congregations date back to the beginning of the 19th century, when families of Swiss Mennonite origin came from Pennsylvania to present-day southern Ontario. A large number of the congregations of the CMC originated when German-speaking immigrants arrived from Russia in the 1870s and the 1920s. Today MC Canada includes not only churches of traditionally Swiss and Germanic background, but also churches composed of Chinese, Hispanic, Hmong, Japanese, Laotian, South Korean, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and First Nations peoples. Meanwhile, people of diverse ethnic backgrounds have also joined congregations that were formerly only Swiss and Germanic.

Three Councils and a General Board attended to the ministry of MC Canada. The Christian Formation Council attended to youth and young adult ministries, congregational and ministerial leadership, publishing and resources, and Christian education and nurture. The Christian Witness Council facilitated and developed programs in evangelism and church planting, national and international missions, native ministries, peace and justice advocacy, and service ministries. A Support Services Council oversaw communication, finances, development and constituency relations, human resources, property management, and annual assembly planning. The church paper of MC Canada was the Canadian Mennonite, with offices in Waterloo, Ontario. A General Board oversaw the entire work of the church. The General Board and the Councils were accountable to an annual delegate assembly.

MC Canada also related to several inter-Mennonite institutions by appointing persons to their governance boards (Mennonite Central Committee Canada, and Mennonite Foundation of Canada) or providing funding to its operating budget (Canadian Mennonite University). A women's organization, Mennonite Women Canada (formerly Canadian Women in Mission), was integrally related to MC Canada. MC Canada was a member of Mennonite World Conference and was affiliated with the Canadian Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

In October 2017, following years of declining contributions from member congregations, Mennonite Church Canada underwent a major restructuring. At a special delegate assembly in Winnipeg, Manitoba, approval was given to shift most programming to the area conferences. Local congregations no longer became direct members of the national body, but only of the area conference. A Joint Council composed of area conference leaders replaced the former General Board. Mennonite Church Canada continued to staff Indigenous Relations, International Witness, Finance, Pension and Benefits, but these ongoing programs depended on adequate congregational funding. MC Canada continued to relate to Mennonite Church USA, and spoke on behalf of the church in inter-church organizations and to the government.

In 2016 the conference had 218 member congregations with a total membership of approximately 30,200.

Bibliography

Dyck, Dan. "All International Witness workers being recalled next June." Canadian Mennonite 21, no. 21 (6 November 2017): 17-18.

Dyck, Dan. "Delegates affirm Covenant and Operating Agreement." Canadian Mennonite 21, no. 21 (6 November 2017): 16.

Dyck, Dan. "Overwhelming vote in favour of new MC Canada structure." Canadian Mennonite 21, no. 21 (6 November 2017): 15.

"Staff transitions in the wake of Special Assembly 2017." Canadian Mennonite 21, no. 21 (6 November 2017): 16.

Additional Information

Central Offices:  600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4.

Website: Mennonite Church Canada website

Mission Statement of Mennonite Church Canada

As communities of Christian faith, uniting and united under the name Mennonite Church Canada, we desire to express our biblical understanding of faith and life in Jesus Christ within the Canadian context and beyond by extending the invitation to all people of our multi-cultural society to follow Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, that together as the people of God, we may worship one Lord in truth and in holiness, minister together through education, evangelism and service, care for God's creation by making peace and practicing stewardship, and provide leadership and resources to facilitate God's mission in the world, so that all people may find healing and hope in all circumstances of life.

Mennonite Church Canada General Board Executive Members ¹

Assembly	Year	Place	Moderator	Assistant Moderator	Secretary	Treasurer	Member at Large	General Secretary
1	2000	Lethbridge, AB	Ron Sawatsky	Joy Kroeger	Sam Steiner			Dan Nighswander
2	2001	Abbotsford, BC	Ron Sawatsky	Joy Kroeger	Sam Steiner			Dan Nighswander
3	2002	Saskatoon, SK	Henry Krause	Joy Kroeger	Sam Steiner			Dan Nighswander
4	2003	St. Catharines, ON	Henry Krause	Joy Kroeger	Marlene Janzen			Dan Nighswander
5	2004	Winkler, MB	Henry Krause	Esther Peters	Marlene Janzen	Clare Schlegel	Garth Ewert Fisher	Dan Nighswander
6	2005	Charlotte, NC	Henry Krause	Esther Peters	Marlene Janzen	Clare Schlegel	Garth Ewert Fisher	Robert J. Suderman
7	2006	Edmonton, AB	Henry Krause	Garth Ewert Fisher	Marlene Janzen	Clare Schlegel	Hilda Hildebrand	Robert J. Suderman
8	2007	Abbotsford, BC	Henry Krause	Garth Ewert Fisher	Donald G. Friesen	Clare Schlegel	Hilda Hildebrand	Robert J. Suderman
9	2008	Winnipeg, MB	Andrew Reesor-McDowell	Garth Ewert Fisher	Donald G. Friesen	Gordon Peters	Hilda Hildebrand	Robert J. Suderman
10	2009	Saskatoon, SK	Andrew Reesor-McDowell	Garth Ewert Fisher	Donald G. Friesen	Gordon Peters	Hilda Hildebrand	Robert J. Suderman
11	2010	Calgary, AB	Andrew Reesor-McDowell	Hilda Hildebrand	Donald G. Friesen	Gordon Peters	Donita Wiebe-Neufeld	Willard Metzger
12	2011	Waterloo, ON	Andrew Reesor-McDowell	Hilda Hildebrand	Donald G. Friesen	Gordon Peters	Donita Wiebe-Neufeld	Willard Metzger
13	2012	Vancouver, BC	Hilda Hildebrand	Aldred Neufeldt	Donald G. Friesen	Gordon Peters	Laura Loewen	Willard Metzger
14	2014	Winnipeg, MB	Hilda Hildebrand	Aldred Neufeldt	Karen Sheil	John Goossen	Laura Loewen Kate Janzen	Willard Metzger
15	2016	Saskatoon, SK	Calvin Quan	Aldred Neufeldt	Harold Peters-Fransen	Allan Hiebert	Laura Loewen	Willard Metzger

Notes:

1. Individuals are first listed beside the conference at which they were appointed. The position of General Secretary is not appointed annually.

Author(s)	Helmut Harder
	Sam Steiner
Date Published	January 2018

Cite This Article

MLA style

Harder, Helmut and Sam Steiner. "Mennonite Church Canada." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. January 2018. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_Canada&oldid=156405.

APA style

Harder, Helmut and Sam Steiner. (January 2018). Mennonite Church Canada. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Church_Canada&oldid=156405.

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