A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

housand Mennonites entered the country between 1947 and 1952. Because of their experience under the Stalinist regime, many of these had no official church connection prior to their coming out of the Soviet Union. During their prolonged stay in German "refugee camps" many experienced a spiritual renewal and publicly identified themselves with one or the other Mennonite church before coming to Canada. To trace the growth and development of the Mennonite Brethren Church from its beginning as a tiny mission church of sixteen members in southern Manitoba, to a Canada-wide brotherhood, with some one hundred and twenty-five congregations scattered literally "from sea to shining sea" is a somewhat difficult, yet very interesting task. Since logically and chronologically this expansion is related to distinct geographical areas, a geographic pattern has been adopted in the organization of materials for this chapter. I. Early Congregations in Manitoba The Winkler Mennonite Brethren Church The first Mennonite Brethren church in Canada came into existence as the result of church extension efforts by Mennonite Brethren in the United States. The first reference to Canada as a possible "mission field" appears in the conference minutes of 1882 in connection with the 154 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH projection of itinerant ministries for the coming year.* Although there was widespread interest in such a venture, plans were postponed because of inadequate information about the religious situation in Manitoba, and also because of insufficient funds. At the conference held in Hamilton County, Nebraska, the following year, the brethren Heinrich Voth (Minnesota) and David Dyck (Kansas) were commissioned to visit the Mennonite communities in Manitoba. In the spring of 1884 these two ministers visited southern Manitoba (West Reserve) in order to familiarize themselves with the field. Apparently missionaries of other denominations and cults were making inroads into the Mennonite settlements of Manitoba at this time/ Since David Dyck had relatives in the area, it was possible for the brethren to establish a number of important contacts during this first visit. Encouraged by the reports of the two deputies, the October, 1884, conference meeting in Kansas asked Heinrich Voth to devote his whole time to a spiritual ministry in Minnesota and Manitoba for an annual salary of four hundred dollars. 7 (David Dyck was not available for a further ministry, because he had accepted pastoral responsibilities at Lehigh, Kansas.) Voth was thus left alone to carry on the work in Manitoba, and for the next five years he visited this area once or twice a year. Voth's actual ministry began on December 4, 1884. in the village of Hoffnungsfeld, one mile southwest of the present town of Winkler. That his ministry was not without opposition and tests of faith is illustrated by the following incident. On one occasion, whil