A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

ich hampered the development of the institution was an "intermittent rivalry between the Alberta Mennonite High School and the Coaldale Bible School." 29 The divided loyalty in the constituency was a factor in the eventual closing of both schools. Nevertheless, the Alberta Mennonite High School made a positive contribution in providing Christian training for the M.B. youth of the province. Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (M.B. C.I.) By 1945 enough Mennonite Brethren residents in Winnipeg were interested in a private high school to found the M.B. Collegiate Institute. A supporting association was formed under the leadership of C. C. Warkentin. The school first held classes in the Mennonite Brethren Bible College, but in 1947 moved into its own premises next door on Talbot Avenue. Several veteran educators — like H. Wall, G. H. Lohrenz, G. H. Peters and D. K. Duerksen — were associated with the school in its early history. Although the turn-over in the teaching staff was quite large (as in most private schools), the school continued to make slow but steady progress. By 1955, the year of its tenth anniversary, a total of 1042 students had attended the school; of these 197 had graduated. In 1959 the yearly attendance rose to over 200, and has remained well above that mark ever since. Instruction is offered in grades seven to twelve, with special emphasis on Bible and German language. The school has continued to gain favor and support from an ever widening constituency. Of the 236 students enrolled during the 1962-63 year, more than thirty came from rural churches. In that same year approximately one third of the students came from a non-Mennonite Brethren background, an indication that the school is fulfilling a need not only in the M.B. churches, but also in the larger Winnipeg constituency. In the early sixties the M.B. C.I. was accepted by the Manitoba Conference alongside of the Winkler Bible School as a conference school. Eden Christian College As noted earlier a Mennonite Brethren high school was begun in 1945 in Ontario as a subsidiary of the Virgil Bible School. From its inception the Bible school accepted students for grades nine and ten. A separate high school building was constructed in 1947. In ten years the 268 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH enrollment climbed to 183, 34 percent of whom had other than a Mennonite Brethren background. In 1948 the Ontario M.B. Conference accepted the responsibility for the operation of the school. An auditorium and another classroom wing constructed in 1955 completed the campus. Eden Christian College continues to provide thorough academic instruction within the framework of a Christian philosophy of life. A recent upsurge in enrollment reflects a demand for such training in the constituency. Leadership to the program has been given by the following principals: H. Thiessen, D. Neumann, R. Bartel, and J. Wichert. 30 In Saskat