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Fall 1987 · Vol. 16 No. 2 · pp. 77–78 

Book Review

Where We Stand: An Index to Statements by Mennonite and Brethren in Christ in Canada, 1787-1982

Bert Friesen. Winnipeg, MB: MCC, 1986.

Reviewed by Kevin Enns-Rempel

Christian faith, in the Anabaptist tradition, has never stood apart from lifestyle. Orthodoxy is inseparable from Orthopraxis. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Mennonite and Brethren in Christ heirs of this faith tradition would address themselves frequently to questions of faith and action. Conference reports and minutes are filled with discussions and resolutions concerning matters such as military service and nonresistance, clothing and dress, “amusements,” and relief work—to name but a few of the relevant issues. We have not always agreed on these things, but we have debated them vigorously and at length.

To this point it has been difficult to locate and document these statements. Few persons have the time to search page by page through countless yearbooks and minutes in order to find the various positions on any given social issue. Happily, the publication of Bert Friesen’s Where We Stand has made this task infinitely easier. It indexes Canadian Mennonite and Brethren in Christ statements on peace and social concerns both by topic and conference. Accompanying the index are three microfilm reels containing all of the statements listed in the index, further simplifying the researcher’s task.

This is a valuable and important work, and should be {78} purchased by all libraries interested in Mennonite history. It is a worthy companion to its United States counterpart, Mennonite Statements on Peace and Social Concerns, 1900-1978, edited by Urbane Peachey (Akron: Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Peace Section, 1980). The relatively high price and the fact that the index can only be used with access to a microfilm reader will discourage many individuals from acquiring it. These drawbacks, however, hardly lessen the worth of this guide. Friesen and his co-workers are to be commended for their contribution to Canadian Mennonite and Brethren in Christ historical studies.

Kevin Enns-Rempel
Archivist
Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies
Fresno, California

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