Building Communities
Building Communities: The Changing Face of Manitoba Mennonites
By Dr. John J. Friesen | CMU Press and MMHS (2007)
Building Communities: The Changing Face of Manitoba Mennonites is not only a comprehensive and accessible history of Manitoba Mennonites who emigrated from Europe in the 19th century to seek religious freedom and live out their pacifist convictions, but it also looks at today’s Mennonites in all their cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and theological diversity.
Generously illustrated with photographs and maps, and including illuminating excerpts from hundreds of personal and official documents, it’s an important contribution to the history of Manitoba.
Commissioned by the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, this book includes new emphasis on the experience of women, Mennonite folklore, urban life, and lively young Mennonite congregations of East Asian, African, Latin American, and Indigenous origin.
About the Author
Dr. John J. Friesen taught at Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) and Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) for four decades.
He grew up on a farm near Rosenfeld, and graduated from the Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna and CMBC. After further study at Bethel College and Mennonite Biblical Seminary, he received his Ph.D. in history and theology from Northwestern University in Illinois.
Our Mission
We seek to foster an understanding of and respect for the history and beliefs of the Mennonite people in the past and present, and to challenge them to give new expression to this heritage in the future.
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Help celebrate and preserve the Mennonite story, ensuring our history is passed on to the next generation.