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MHSBC is a community-funded organization, and we depend on your support. Your donation helps preserve our Mennonite stories and heritage for future generations. Funds are used to keep our archives open to public users; upgrade equipment; support our few staff members; bring you the latest research on Mennonite history through the Roots and Branches newsletter; and to sponsor special events. Tax-deductible receipts are provided.
We acknowledge that Abbotsford and surrounding area are within the ancestral,
The Mennonite Historical Society of BC is located |
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MHSBC Membership and Donations.
You can renew your MHSBC membership for 2025 by paying online 24/7:
https://www.bit.ly/MHSBCMembership
Renewing online is handy and helps us. Thank you for your support in 2024!
Don't miss a single issue of Roots & Branches and be sure to get your voting card for the AGM! Get discounts on Tickets ... !
MHSBC General Fund: Keep our Legacy going for future generations! Your contributions make such a valuable difference! We thank you!
www.bit.ly/MHSBCGeneralFund
MHSBC Workstation Campaign: Help our hard working research specialists have the tools they need to serve our patrons!
www.bit.ly/MHSBCWorkstations
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The MHSBC / MHM YouTube Videos for the Anabaptist Story |
MHSBC Introductory Video with Jennifer Martens: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB87-Sa-T8DmyfVOcIjeTNQ/ |
MHM Introductory Video with Jenny Bergen: https://youtu.be/C2TnhT5dLzs |
Presentation by Richard Thiessen: https://youtu.be/nXuVgWhu15g |
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You Can Never Go Home Again
Exhibit dates October 7 to November 10, 2025
You Can Never Go Home Again was first proposed in 2022 as a response to the rapid rise in housing costs, followed by the unprecedented
rate hikes that attempted to correct them. Many of those early 5-year low-rate mortgages are now resetting into much higher payments. T
he project reflects on the roots of British Columbia’s housing crisis through my own experience of growing up in an economically challenged
environment in Chilliwack during the late 1970s. It explores how working-class families, like mine, faced the pressures of an inflationary
recession (stagflation), leading to difficult choices about relocation and employment.
I approached this work through a series of paintings informed by site visits, family archives, memory, and historical records—each tied to
places we once called home. My goal is to contextualize the cyclical nature of real estate markets; particularly how inflationary monetary
policies often culminate in affordability crises.
Alongside my practice as an artist and educator, I bring 25 years of experience as a real estate investor and a background in the
financial industry as a lender, including working with mortgage applications. By combining personal history with professional
experience, I aim to spark dialogue about our current housing challenges and highlight their multifaceted nature.
In 2025, I revisited the data and revised the paintings to create a more cohesive exhibition, presenting both the original and updated data as a point of contrast.
Christopher Friesen- 2025.
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The "Research and Articles" webpage allows writers and researchers to post research and short articles in support of
items in Roots and Branches, or as stand alone documents.
Glenn Penner, University of Guelph, is compiling DNA from Mennonite men with his "Y-DNA Wish List."
Along with men with specific surnames, the Y-DNA part of the Mennonite DNA Project is interested in having any man who has paternal Low-German Mennonite join the project.
Click on "Research Articles" in the left menu to download a PDF document with the details on how to participate.
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Messages from Ben Nobbs-Thiessen Chair in Mennonite Studies & Co-director of CTMS at the Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies at The University of Winnipeg
I’m pleased to share the schedule for our fall conference, “Global Mennonites and the Justice System Since 1525,” being held October 3 and 4 2025
at the University of Winnipeg. The conference will consider the many entanglements of Mennonites and the justice system—as martyrs, perpetrators,
enforcers, and advocates. We invite you to attend in person or by tuning in to the livestream.
Fall Conference Schedule and Registration Information:
https://ctms.uwinnipeg.ca/events/mennonites-justice/.
From their persecution in the sixteenth century to the diverse realities of the present, Anabaptists have been subject to and participated
in systems of discipline, punishment, and the administration of justice. Mennonites have carried and consecrated memories of martyrdom and
incarceration—from the Reformation to the Gulag—as core elements of group identity. They have also resisted participation in state institutions,
and this has led to accusations that they seek to “live outside the laws” of host societies, a critique amplified in moments when Mennonites have
appeared as perpetrators of crime. At other moments in their 500-year history, Mennonites have turned to the state to discipline their own
recalcitrant members and to police the actions of neighbours. Gradually, they have also come to serve in roles throughout the justice system including in
policing, the courts, and corrections. Simultaneously, Mennonites have become advocates for reforming aspects of the justice system that reflect
differential privilege and systemic racism.
We invite you to register to indicate your interest and to receive a link to the conference livestream. Mark your calendars!
— Ben Nobbs-Thiessen
Chair in Mennonite Studies & co-director of CTMS
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Are you working on a Mennonite history project that needs financial support? Do you know someone who is? The Plett Foundation may be able to help!
Twice a year, the Plett Foundation awards grants to support research and publications. The next grant application deadline is March 15.
Research grants cover expenses like travel and accommodation for research trips. Publication grants may be used for the production of books, documentaries,
and exhibits. To qualify, projects must be related to the history of the Mennonites who migrated to Canada from Russia in the 1870s, their descendants,
or their ancestors.
For more information and to apply, visit our website.
Recent Grant Recipients:
Bruce Wiebe ($4,520) – For travel to Mexico to research Mennonite land purchases of 1921/1922 and to support the Gemeindearchive der Kolonie Manitoba, Mexico.
Abigail Carl-Klassen ($15,000) – For production, publication, and promotion of a book of vignettes drawn from her Rebels, Exiles, and Bridge Builders Oral History Project.
The Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society ($7,784) – For production and publication of the book Fürstenland: A Mennonite History, by Arnold Neufeldt-Fast.
Margaret Wiens ($1,500) – For research for the book Marsh Island, the history of a Mennonite family, by Margaret Wiens and Mary Wiens.
Pandora Press ($4,500) – For production and publication of three books in Pandora Press’s Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies series.
Chris Huebner ($4,443) – For travel to Amsterdam and two months’ accommodation in support of his “In the Book of Martyrs” research project.
Katherine Hill ($5,000) – For travel and accommodation for research and photography in Poland, Germany, Canada, the United States, and Mexico for her
book project “Lost and Living Pasts: Archives, Objects, and Images of Mennonite Belonging."
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See the MHM website at: www.mennonitemuseum.org.
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Volunteer at the Mennonite Heritage Museum Gardens!
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YouTube link for Louise Bergen Price's MHM Book Launch “The Canada Coat” recording of the event.
YouTube Link for for Dr. Richard Toews' recorded Virtual Book Launch, The Confession.
Center for Transnational Mennonite Studies, University of Winnipeg presents "Packing for Canada,"
a fascinating presentation on Russlaender Mennonite material culture.
A recording of the event is now available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2EEgrZhX9Y.
The Center for Transnational Mennonite Studies, University of Winnipeg, presents 11 sessions of "MCC at 100" On YouTube.
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How to become a member of the MHSBC?
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You can pay your $35.00 MHSBC membership fee online with our convenient payment platform: |
You can pay a $750.00 MHSBC lifetime membership fee online with our convenient payment platform: |
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You can pay a $70.00 MHSBC two year membership fee online with our convenient payment platform:
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According to the Canada Revenue Agency, MHSBC membership fees are not tax deductible. Members receive Roots and Branches three or four times a year. Members enjoy a discount on the price of MHSBC events. The annual general meeting of the society is held in April or May.
Other ways to become a member: |
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MHSBC General Fund: Keep our Legacy going for future generations! Your contributions make such a valuable difference! We thank you! |
Sponsor an MHSBC Event |
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