A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

. B. Church in Winnipeg. The urbanization process of Mennonites in Manitoba during the last few decades has been phenomenal and Winnipeg today has the distinction of having the heaviest concentration of Mennonites of any city on the North American continent. The Mennonite Brethren have been in the vanguard of this process. Beginning with a small city mission church of twenty-two members in 1913, the Mennonite Brethren today (1971) worship in eight local churches with a baptized membership of two and one half thousand.' 12 During the late twenties the entire congregation continued to worship in one place — the mission chapel at the corner of Andrews and Burrows. Because a large group settled in the suburb of North Kildonan, and another large group had taken up residence on the "Southside" (south of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks) the M. B. church divided into three local congregations: North End (now Elmwood), a direct outgrowth of the city mission; North Kildonan (1929), composed of immigrants from Russia; and South End (1936), also composed of immigrants. Partly the result of the division of larger churches, but also partly the result of church extension work in the city, five other congregations were established in Greater Winnipeg in the 1960's: River East M. B. Church in East Kildonan; Portage Ave. M. B. Church in West Winnipeg; Salem M. B. Church in the "inner city;" Fort Garry M. B. Church in South Winnipeg, close to the university campus; and Brooklands M. B. Church in the suburb of Brooklands. Initially the language in the worship services was German, but through the years this has changed: today the "mother churches" (Elmwood, North Kildonan, Portage Avenue and Central) still conduct bilingual services, but the "younger churches" have used only English in their meetings from the very beginning. MENNONITE BRETHREN COME TO CANADA 163 The establishment of the Mennonite Brethren Bible College in 1944, and of the M. B. Collegiate Institute in 1945, helped to make Winnipeg a strategic center not only for the Manitoba Conference, but also for the larger Canadian brotherhood. The Christian Press, established in Winnipeg in 1923 and later acquired by the Canadian Conference, also promoted this development. In the post-war period churches were also planted in other cities of Manitoba — first in Brandon and later in Portage la Prairie and Carman. In Manitoba, as elsewhere, the shift from rural communities to urban centers is very much in evidence. The contributions of prominent leaders to the work of the brotherhood will be considered in connection with institutional and other activities of the conference. Saskatchewan In Saskatchewan more Mennonite Brethren immigrants who came from Russia in the 1920's settled in areas where churches had been established earlier; thus fewer new congregations were organized than in Manitoba. The amalgamation of the Kanaedier and Russlaender in a lo