A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

ns all other congregations (not in the above category) indicate that they carry on bilingual worship services. (In most of these churches, however, the Sunday school for children is conducted in English only.) Several congregations in which a large number of immigrants from Europe and lately from Paraguay have been admitted to membership still carry on their services almost exclusively in German. The arguments for retaining the German language encompassed a wide range of interest and concern. In some churches it was argued that the language which had been good enough for the "fathers," should be good enough for the younger generation. Others feared the elimination of older preachers from the pulpit ministry. Twenty-nine out of seventy-seven reported that their congregation had retained the German language in order to serve the older people and the recent immigrants attending their services. Concern for the spiritual welfare of the young people appears to have been a primary motive in bringing about a language change in M.B. congregations in Canada. Thirty-two congregations gave this as the main reason for changing to English. Twenty-four also added the desire for community outreach as another factor. In a few instances the inability of the pastor to speak German precipitated the change. One pastor commends the older members for their "understanding" attitude in this process of change. The effects resulting from this change are similar to those listed by congregations in the United States. In twenty-three responses the fact that people of non-Mennonite background are attending services now is attributed to this change. Consequently many of these also become church members. According to others (five), there is now a more active participation of youth in the work of the church. Still others (four) refer to the elimination of the "generation gap" as a result of changing to English. In some congregations the immediate effects have been painful. A number of reports (eight) indicate that older people feel neglected; some of them withdraw from the fellowship; others move away. At least seven 330 HISTORY OF THE MENNON1TE BRETHREN CHURCH churches report that the change of language in public worship has not produced any discernible effects — neither good nor bad. The long-range effects of this linguistic and cultural transition in the Mennonite Brethren Church of North America cannot be assessed at this point. Some preliminary observations, however, can be recorded. The claim often made in the discussion of this issue — that the removal of the language barrier would immediately result in a more effective evangelistic outreach in the community — is not substantiated by statistics. The obstacles to effective witnessing appear to lie on a deeper level. Another noticeable trend as a result of accepting the language used by most other evangelical groups is the increased number of intermarriages between