|
|
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 |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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 |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MHM is Excited to Announce Our First Exhibit of 2026!
Katherine Van Kampen: Creation The Fingerprint of God will feature her original artwork alongside a selection of additional pieces.
Katherine will also be launching her new book showcasing her art, with prints and cards available for purchase. This is an exhibit you won’t want to miss!
OPENING RECEPTION:
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 2–6pm
Free admission. Registration required: Call 604-758-5667 and leave a message with your name, phone number, and the number of people attending.
The exhibit runs until March 27, 2026 and will be open during our regular hours: Monday–Friday, 10am–3pm.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Message from Aileen Friesen Co-director of CTMS at the Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies at The University of Winnipeg
In the summer of 2023, we commemorated the centenary of the start of the migration of some 21,000 Mennonites from the Soviet Union to Canada.
Events were
held across the country, including our
conference at the University of Winnipeg, linked by a train tour that traced the initial journey taken by
Russlaender immigrants from Quebec to as far as British Columbia.
Today, I am excited to announce the premiere of The Russlaender Migration: From Revolution to Reflection, a documentary film that tells the story of the
1920s migration and its commemoration a hundred years later. If you are in Winnipeg, we hope you will consider joining us for this event at the
University of Winnipeg (EG Hall), on January 15, at 7:00 p.m. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director, Andrew Wall (Refuge 31 Films).
There will be screenings in the coming months in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Watch the film's website for updates.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Message from Ben Nobbs-Thiessen Chair in Mennonite Studies & Co-director of CTMS at the Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies at The University of Winnipeg
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."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
See the MHM website at: www.mennonitemuseum.org.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Volunteer at the Mennonite Heritage Museum Gardens!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
MHSBC General Fund: Keep our Legacy going for future generations! Your contributions make such a valuable difference! We thank you! |
Sponsor an MHSBC Event |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
How to become a member of the MHSBC?
|
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: |
|
|
|
You can pay a $70.00 MHSBC two year membership fee online with our convenient payment platform:
| |
|
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: |
