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The Conservative Mennonite Conference (CMC) is a Christian body of conservative evangelical Mennonite churches.
Background
The first American settlement of the Amish Mennonites — Swiss brethren who separated from the main body of Mennonites and followed Jacob Amman — was in Berks County, Pennsylvania around 1710-1720. Soon they had settlements in Chester and Lancaster counties as well. By the middle of the 18th century, they had congregations from Pennsylvania to Iowa, as well as in Ontario, Canada. Amish Mennonite ministers' conferences were organized to serve these churches, and were held from 1862 until 1878. After the 1878 ministers' conference, three district conferences were formed: Eastern, Indiana-Michigan, and Western. Some congregations remained aloof from this conference movement, forerunners of two groups — the Old Order Amish and the Conservative (Amish) Mennonite Conference. Most of the churches in the conference movement eventually merged with other Mennonite groups. The Old Order Amish continue 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 conference in Pigeon, Michigan, 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.
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 Christian patterns of belief with typical Mennonite emphasis. Baptism is a church ordinance, which may be performed by either pouring or immersion. Communion and feet washing are also observed.
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."
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 2000 the conference had 10,223 members in 104 congregations in the United States. There was one congregation in Red Lake, Ontario, 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, an official monthly periodical, began in 1971. Headquarters, the Rosedale Bible College, and the offices of Rosedale Mennonite Missions are located in Irwin, Ohio.
The Conservative Mennonite Conference maintains a loose relationship with the Mennonite Church (the largest Mennonite denomination), through representatives on some of its major boards.
External link
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
- Mennonite Encyclopedia (Vol. 5), Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, et al., editors
- Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States (2000), Glenmary Research Center
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