A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

period devoted to the study of Bible stories. Memorization of Bible passages and selected hymns was an integral part of the educational process. North American circumstances made no provision for this idyllic village pattern. Children generally attended public schools over which the parents had no final control. To rem- edy this loss they created schools for German and religion that met after regular class hours and on Saturdays. Educa- tional concerns eventually gave birth to the introduction of the American Sunday school system, Bible schools, private high schools and colleges.38 A second factor accelerating the move out of isolation was the need for young people to go into the cities to work and supplement the income of the immigrant family. Hundreds of young women, for example, found themselves working as maids in affluent homes in Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Vancouver. Their nurture and care became a special concern for the churches in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.39 Reports from Winnipeg refer to special gatherings of these young women as sometimes exceeding one hundred. The earnings of these Mennonite "domestics" were a major factor in their families' financial survival during the initial years after the 1920s immigration and into the depression of the 1930s. This exposure to the wealthy and upper middle-class of society made inroads into Mennonite homes that heretofore had been locked into age-old traditions. By the 1940s Mennonite Brethren in the United States were also beginning the move into urban areas. In California there were churches in San Jose, Los Angeles, Bakersfield and Fres- no. Farmers left the farm and entered small business of various kinds. Entrance into local politics-school boards, city councils, village mayors-became commonplace. All of these movements pointed to a people less separated and increasingly moving into the networks and institutions of the larger culture. 165 CHAPTER 14 Mennonite Brethren Education The Mennonite Brethren were born in an era of educa- tional ferment among a people who had been closed to outside influences for more than 250 years.1 The Bible study groups that helped awaken the Russian Mennonite colonies continued to be a major avenue of spiritu- al fellowship for Mennonite Brethren. Furthermore the reli- gious education in the colony schools provided a sufficient base upon which to build the spiritual nurture of the church. Children and youth were integrated into the worship ser- vices. The preaching ministry was largely an interpretation of Scripture related to the experiences of life.