Village News

Last weekend the Advisory Council of the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society (MMHS) held its inaugural meeting at the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) in Steinbach. The roles of the Advisory Council include, sharing information, advising the Board of Directors, coordinating activities, and nominating members to serve on the Board. The Council meets twice annually.

The morning was spent hearing reports from various affiliated organizations; the EastMenn Committee, the West Reserve Committee, the Mennonite Heritage Village, the Mennonite Heritage Centre, the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, the Plett Foundation, and the Chair of Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg. Each group was challenged to report on its mandate, its constituency/membership/target audience, and its vision for the next five years. Two common concerns with many of these organizations were funding and a dwindling supply of volunteers. As a result the Council spent time looking for ideas to engage future generations. There was also discussion about how to attract the participation of other groups with related historical interests.

In the afternoon we heard a brief lecture by Dr. Royden Loewen on his recent research trip to Indonesia. He reported that there are three conferences of Mennonites in the country representing approximately 108,000 members in total. It seems that these groups vary in their church polity and their cultural practices as much as do the Mennonites in Canada. Many of them are farmers growing rice on a small 2 hectare farm. He did not report being served Vereniki, farmer sausage or borscht at any meal. This trip is part of a much larger initiative to study Mennonite populations in seven or eight different parts of the world.