A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

RCH matters of common concern. This process of reconciliation reached a historic milestone at the Centennial Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches held in 1960 in Reedley, California, when the President of the General Conference Mennonite Church, Erland Waltner, presented the "Centennial Study Conference Statement to Mennonite Brethren." Because of its historic significance it is given here in full as a fitting and pleasant conclusion to an unpleasant chapter of Mennonite Brethren history. Greetings to the Mennonite Brethren in the observance of their centennial year. We, the delegates of the General Conference Mennonite Church, assembled in our Centennial Study Conference at Donnellson, Iowa from June 20-23 to discuss the theme "Christian Unity in Faith and Witness" wish to convey brotherly concerns and greetings in the spirit of Ephesians 4: 13, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." During these days of fellowship and prayer and serious study of the Scriptures we are reminded of our common unbroken heritage of 335 years, from 1525 to 1860. We regret, however, that circumstances and events developed so that a rupture in the brotherhood occurred a century ago. We, of this generation, do not really know the details of the events that led to separation. We are, however, sorry for all feelings, words and deeds expressed by our fathers in an unbrotherly way and in a manner contrary to the spirit of Christ. We are sorry that these events resulted in such an intense break within the Anabaptist-Mennonite brotherhood, that for a full century two parallel lines of explanation have been advanced as to the historical facts and that these parallel explanations are still perpetuated today. We recognize the need for spiritual renewal that existed within the Mennonite brotherhood in Russia a century ago and we now feel constrained by our Lord to seek for more discussion as to what did happen in Russia, and thus understand that which now prevents us as a new generation of the church from having a closer fellowship. It is our prayer that for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the sake of our children, and in behalf of a more united Mennonite witness within the Chris- tian brotherhood, efforts be made in the spirit of humility to explore ways in which we could develop a closer fellowship in such areas where we live and work side by side. In spite of human weaknesses, we thank God for the way He has used both conferences to proclaim the Gospel, and for those common experiences of service such as MCC and in the Congo which have enriched our respective fellowships. 39 Had the spirit and sentiment of this statement been predominant in the Mennonite brotherhood in 1860, the schism would probably have been avoided. Chapter 5 Faith in Ferment The early history of the M