Chinese MBs tour church sites

Some 40 members of the Richmond (B.C.) Chinese MB Church took a “whirlwind tour” of Abbotsford and vicinity May 22, with particular emphasis on MB history.

Organized by new stewardship representative David Leung, who also acted as interpreter for tour guide Al Thiessen, the group drove through Yarrow on their way from Stillwood Camp and Conference Centre where they were on retreat. Here they saw one of the first Mennonite Brethren churches in B.C., established in 1929. They then saw other MB churches in the Abbotsford area, as well as Columbia Bible College and Mennonite Educational Institute.

The tour touched on history, going back to Anabaptist origins and the 1860 founding of the MB church, as well as MB theology and the global MB conferences. Participants learned about Mennonite Central Committee, in which MBs participate, and the denomination’s schools, camping ministries and mission work.

Although he has been active in his home church, Leung says, “I could not believe how little I knew about the rich history of the MBs, let alone the resources which we can draw upon for our various church ministries.”

The tour was both fun and educational, he says. “It has given our church members a much broader and deeper perspective on being part of the MB family.”

—from report by David Leung