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Abraham Friesen, chair of the Historical Commission, gave a brief overview of the Mennonite Brethren Church, from the martyrdoms of the early Anabaptists to the founding of the Mennonite Brethren Church in 1860. This goodly heritage, he said, brings with it responsibilities, including the responsibilities to publish histories and to archive historical materials. Paul Toews, executive secretary of the Commission and archivist of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Fresno, Calif., stated that in the past 30 years, 20 major historical works have been published by the Commission. Archival materials have been recovered from houses, attics and garages and from other countries. Many historical records, including congregational records, have been microfilmed, and there are now 2000 linear feet of Mennonite Brethren archival materials in the various archival centres.
John Redekop and Abraham Friesen, in a dialogue, gave four reasons why it is important for the Conference to maintain the archives even when the conference structure will be changed:
1. There is evidence of God working in the denomination.
2. History can be a great teacher it shows the good and bad of the past and the lessons to be learned.
3. A great disservice is done to the ancestors of the Conference if what they have achieved and suffered is ignored.
4. The church today is shaped by the forces of the past.
SBB
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