Conservative Mennonite Conference
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Conservative Mennonite Conference (CMC) is a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
body of
Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
churches in the Anabaptist tradition. Its members are mostly of
Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
descent. Despite its name, the Conservative Mennonite Conference is not generally considered to align with
Conservative Mennonite Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Con ...
practice, but rather, is mainline in orientation.


History

For the early history see Anabaptism#History.


Amish Beginnings

The first American settlement of the ''
Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
Mennonites'' — who in 1693 separated from the main body of
Swiss Brethren The Swiss Brethren are a branch of Anabaptism that started in Zürich, spread to nearby cities and towns, and then was exported to neighboring countries. Today's Swiss Mennonite Conference can be traced to the Swiss Brethren. In 1525, Felix Manz, ...
and followed
Jacob Amman Jakob Ammann (also Jacob Amman, Amann; 12 February 1644 – between 1712 and 1730) was an Anabaptist leader and namesake of the Amish religious movement. Personal life The full facts about the personal life of Jacob Ammann are incomplete ...
— was in
Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Ri ...
, around 1710–1720. Soon they had settlements in
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
and Lancaster counties as well. By the middle of the 19th century, they had congregations from Pennsylvania to
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, as well as in
Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
.


The major division among the Amish

Before the division all factions of the Amish were either called Amish or Amish Mennonites, with no difference in meaning. Mostly in the years between 1862 and 1878 a major division occurred among the Amish, that eventually led to two major factions: The
Amish Mennonite Amish Mennonites came into existence through reform movements among North American Amish mainly between 1862 and 1878. These Amish moved away from the old Amish traditions and drew near to the Mennonites, becoming Mennonites of Amish origin. Over ...
s and
Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite church ...
. Some of the more liberal minded Amish ministers organized conferences to serve their churches between 1862 and 1878. After the 1878 conference, they became known as the Amish Mennonites and their ministers formed three district conferences: Eastern, Indiana-Michigan, and Western. Other congregations remained aloof from this conference movement and became forerunners of two groups — the
Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite church ...
that formed mostly in the last third of the 19th century and the ''Conservative (Amish) Mennonite Conference'' that formed in 1910. Most of the churches of the liberal minded Amish Mennonite conference movement eventually merged with other Mennonite groups. The Old Order Amish continued to worship in private homes (in the German language) and reject innovations in both worship and lifestyle. Some congregations were theologically in between the extremely conservative Old Order Amish and the more progressive conference Amish Mennonites. These churches did not join the Amish Mennonite conferences, but, unlike the Old Order Amish, were open to the use of meetinghouses, and the organization of missionary, publication, social service, and Sunday school work. Representatives of these congregations met in a conference in
Pigeon, Michigan Pigeon is a village in Huron County, Michigan, Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,208 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The village is within Winsor Township, Michigan, Winsor Township. Geography *Accord ...
, on November 24–25, 1910, and adopted the name ''Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference''. "Amish" was dropped and the current name taken when a revised constitution was adopted in 1957.


Later developments

Concern by some members and churches within the conference over liberalizing tendencies caused a number of congregations and individuals of the Conservative Mennonite Conference to splinter or move away from this group to join other more
conservative Mennonites Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Con ...
. The earliest group began to be associated informally together in what was called the Conservative Mennonite Fellowship beginning in 1956 with churches in Ontario, Ohio and elsewhere. In 1998, a group of leaders in the Conservative Mennonite Conference, disagreeing with a vote by the conference ministers that resulted in the wives of ministers no longer being required to wear the prayer veiling, left the conference and formed the
Biblical Mennonite Alliance __NOTOC__ Biblical Mennonite Alliance (BMA) is an organization of Conservative Mennonite Anabaptist congregations located primarily in the eastern two thirds of the US and Canada, with some international affiliates. The BMA congregations are organ ...
.


Faith and practice

The ''Conservative Mennonite Conference'' subscribes to the "Mennonite Confession of Faith of 1963", and adopted a "Conservative Mennonite Statement of Theology" in 1991. The statement follows orthodox
Trinitarian The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...
Christian patterns of belief with typical Mennonite emphasis.
Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
is a church ordinance, which may be performed by either pouring or immersion. Communion and
feet washing Maundy (from Old French ''mandé'', from Latin ''wikt:mandatum, mandatum'' meaning "command"), or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious Rite (Christianity), rite observed by various Chris ...
are also observed. The statement also affirms the traditional Anabaptist position of nonresistance toward enemies: "Under God's provision, the state uses the sword, which 'is ordained of God outside the perfection of Christ' and is a function contrary to the New Testament teachings for the church and the disciple of Christ." According to their mission statement: "The Conservative Mennonite Conference exists to glorify God by equipping leaders and congregations for worship, teaching, fellowship, service, and making disciples by providing resources and conference structures with an evangelical, Anabaptist, and conservative theological orientation." The sociologist Cory Anderson writes that despite its name, the Conservative Mennonite Conference is not categorized as a
Conservative Mennonite Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Con ...
denomination, but rather, is mainline in orientation. Women may engage in ministry, but leadership and ordination is restricted to men. Two meetings are held annually, one in February for the ministers, and another in August for the general public. The executive board and the general secretary are elected at the ministers' meeting to oversee day-to-day operations.


Status

The ''Conservative Mennonite Conference'' is a North American body. In 2005 the conference had 11,199 members in 113 congregations in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. There was one congregation in
Red Lake, Ontario Red Lake is a municipality with town status in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, located northwest of Thunder Bay and less than from the Manitoba border. The municipality consists of six small communities ...
, Canada. There are related bodies in other nations, such as the ''Costa Rica Mennonite Conference'' (org. 1974) and the ''Nicaragua Mennonite Conference'' (org. 1977). The Brotherhood Beacon, the conference's official monthly periodical, began in 1971. Before this the conference published the ''Herold der Wahrheit'', a semi-monthly publication, starting in 1912, and later the ''Missionary Bulletin'', a quarterly, starting in 1952. The ''Conservative Mennonite Conference'' has a number of
parachurch Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indivi ...
ministries.
Rosedale Bible College Rosedale Bible College (RBC) is a private evangelical Anabaptist junior Bible college in Rosedale, Ohio. RBC offers an Associate in Biblical Studies accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education. ...
is an
accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
, two-year
Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...
serving approximately 125 students annually. The college offers degrees in Biblical Studies with a number of additional concentration areas. Rosedale International, formerly Rosedale Mennonite Missions until 2019, is the mission agency of the conference, with roughly 120 workers in some 17 countries. Choice Books of Great Lakes-Rosedale operates under the supervision of Rosedale International. It is a vendor of inspirational, wholesome and family-oriented reading materials operating through a network of independent regional distributors working cooperatively with a central office located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The conference headquarters, Rosedale Bible College, and Choice Books' distribution center, are all located in
Rosedale, Ohio Rosedale is an unincorporated community in central Pike Township, Madison County, Ohio, United States, and roughly thirty miles (48 kilometers) west of the city of Columbus. The ZIP code is 43029 and mail is currently delivered by the Irwin p ...
, a rural crossroads about 30 miles west of
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
. The offices of Rosedale International were also located in Rosedale until 2015 when they were moved into Columbus proper.Rosedale International website History section, https://rosedaleinternational.org/history/, retrieved 10 August 2021 The ''Conservative Mennonite Conference'' maintains a loose relationship with the
Mennonite Church USA The Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Radi ...
(the largest Mennonite denomination), through representation on some of its major boards.


References

*''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', J. Gordon Melton, editor *''Handbook of Denominations in the United States'', by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and Craig D. Atwood *''History of the Conservative Mennonite Conference (1985)'', by Ivan J. Miller, *''Mennonite Encyclopedia (Vol. 5)'', Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, et al., editors *''Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States (2000)'', Glenmary Research Center


References

{{Reflist


External links


The Brotherhood Beacon
- Official periodical
Choice Books of Great Lakes-RosedaleConservative Mennonite Conference
- official Web Site
Rosedale International
at
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on Anabaptist-related top ...
Mennonitism in Canada Mennonitism in the United States Conservative Mennonites Evangelical denominations in North America Christian organizations established in 1910 1910 establishments in Michigan