A Pilgrimage of Faith: The Mennonite Brethren Church in Russia and North America, 1860-1990It is now [1990] one hundred and thirty years since the birth of the Mennonite Brethren Church and therefore time for someone in that church to take a backward glance to see how things have developed. Who better to do this John B. Toews. His life spans well over half of those years and he has experienced much of what he writes. "JB" as he is affectionately known by both students and colleagues is a patriarchal figure in the Mennonite Brethren Church. Born in Ukraine, the Russian Revolution and its aftermath were the crucible that shaped his youth and young adult years. After studying in Western Europe, Toews immigrated to Canada in the late 1920s. Much of his life has been in Mennonite Brethren educational institutions in Canada and the United States. During ten years as Executive Secretary of the Mennonite Brethren Board of Missions he traveled widely and came to know Mennonite Brethren people around the world. In between educational and mission administrative responsibilities he pastored in Kansas and California. After retiring from the presidency of the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary he became the founding Director of the Historical Commission of the Mennonite Brethren Church.
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... meetings in Prussia . 32 According to P.M. Friesen , " Gnadenfeld became the center for a religious move- ment of greater warmth , the magnetic center for those who called themselves ' brethren ' long before the Mennonite Brethren ...
... meetings Jacob Reimer , a leader in the early Mennonite Brethren Church who attended regularly , wrote : Our purpose was to strengthen one another in the faith , to take cognizance of or admonish one another to con- duct ourselves as ...
... meeting that lasted all afternoon and evening , eighteen heads of households signed the docu- ment , fully conscious of the grave consequences that such a step might bring . On January 18 nine others also signed the document.45 There ...
... meeting , which began at noon on Saturday and remained in session all night and throughout Sunday , as a day where the " church united for a day of prayer , repentance and fasting . " Having survived the initial struggle for the right ...
... meeting record the following statement of purpose : " The Conference has been called for brethren of like faith from our scattered churches to see whether at the hand of the Bible it is not pos- sible to bring into harmony different ...