Christian Mennonite Conference

The Christian Mennonite Conference, formerly known as the Chortitzer Mennonite Conference
(German: Die Mennonitische Gemeinde zu Chortitz), is a small body of Mennonites in western Canada.

History
The forerunners of this group came to Manitoba from Russia in 1874. They were first known as
Bergthalers, but eventually became known as the Chortitzer Church because their bishop, Gerhard Wiebe
(1827-1900), lived near the village of Chortitz (now known as Randolph), and made the local church his
home church. This group was very conservative. They sang without harmony (parts), restricting the singing
to a melody only. They allowed neither Sunday schools nor evening services. The German language was
used exclusively in church services. The bishop and ministers possessed most of the authority in the
conference, allowing for little local autonomy.

The departure of the more conservative families to Paraguay in 1948 left the more progressive families
remaining in Canada. This opened the way for a number of changes in the conference. A new emphasis
was placed on Christian education, with the addition of Bible studies, Sunday school, Sunday evening
services, and young people's programs. Exclusive use of the German language made way for the adoption
of English - first in Sunday School, and then in the Sunday morning services. A mission board was formed
to conduct the mission outreach of the conference, and now a number of conference members serve in
different parts of the world.

Today, the conference has just over 1,000 baptized members in 9 congregations.[1] The bishop is the
spiritual leader of the conference. Although all land and property is owned by the conference, each
congregation is nearly autonomous and presides over its ministerial elections, spiritual matters, ministries,
and budget. The bishop is responsible for the ordination of ministers and deacons. The conference, which
has its main office in Steinbach, Manitoba, prints The Chronicle as its official publication and has a radio
program ministry that ministers to German-speaking Mennonites in South America, Mexico, and Canada.

The conference officially changed its name to Christian Mennonite Conference in 2015.[2]

Congregations
Fort St. John, British Columbia
Grunthal, Manitoba
Mitchell, Manitoba
New Bothwell, Manitoba
Niverville, Manitoba
Prespatou, British Columbia
Steinbach, Manitoba
Weidenfeld, Manitoba
 Winkler, Manitoba

Former congregations
Osler, Saskatchewan
Randolph, Manitoba
Rosengard, Manitoba
Schanzenfeld, Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba

See also
Chortitz Heritage Church
Bergthal Colony

References
Mennonite Encyclopedia (Vol. 5), Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, et al., editors

1. "Home" (http://mennoworld.org/2014/06/23/news/chortitzer-conference-to-change-its-name).
2. "Home" (http://mennoworld.org/2015/05/04/news/small-canadian-conference-puts-christian-f
irst/).

External links
Official website (http://www.cmconference.ca)
Christian Mennonite Conference (https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Christian_Mennonite_C
onference) in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online

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