Director appointed

Heinrich and Maria Loewen with daughter Julia. Two older children, Benjamin and Jenny, are studying at university in Germany.

The Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Winnipeg, and the Board of Discipleship Ministries of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches are pleased to announce the appointment of Heinrich Loewen as director of CMBS, effective July 1. Heinrich fills the vacancy left by the retirement of Abe Dueck, who has ably served the Centre as director for 12 years.

Coming most recently from the pastoral staff of Elmwood MB Church in Winnipeg (where he has served as half-time associate pastor of German ministries for the past few months), Loewen has extensive experience in congregational and conference ministry, Christian education and business. He holds an M.Div in church history from the German Theological Seminary, Giessen; an M.Div. in pastoral ministry and church history from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif.; and a Ph.D. in theology from the Evangelical Theological Faculty, Louvain, Belgium. After serving as the founder and president of the Union of Anabaptist Churches (Bund Taufgesinnter Gemeinden) in Germany, Heinrich was the founder and president of the Bibelseminar Bonn (Bonn Bible Seminary).

Loewen will be able to contribute much to the mission of the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies as it seeks to conserve the history and heritage of the Canadian Mennonite Brethren Church while also serving as a resource to the Conference and to congregations as they reach out to their surroundings in relevant ways. As one who enjoys preaching and teaching as well as researching and writing, Heinrich is confident that the Centre can serve as a “vital link between the gifts and strengths of the past and the ministry and outreach of the MB Church in the present and in the future”.

—Gerry Ediger, Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies; John Neufeld, Board of Discipleship Ministries