Peggy Goertzen
Director/Archivist of Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies
The Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies (CMBS) is your resource center for information about the Mennonite Brethren, Tabor College, and related subject areas. The CMBS archives and historical library at Tabor College were organized in response to the resolution adopted at the 1974 U.S. Conference at Henderson, Neb.
Mission
- To acknowledge the work of God in the history of the Mennonite Brethren Church
- To nurture a continued sense of Anabaptist-Mennonite identity
- To establish a testimony for future generations of God’s dealings through the Mennonite Brethren Church
How can the Center help you?
- As a resource center for research regarding Mennonite Brethren history and related areas of study
- As a safe depository for congregational and family records
- As a consultation service regarding the keeping of church records, writing church histories, local histories and genealogies
- As a consultation service in planning workshops, seminars, historical celebrations and publications related to Mennonite Brethren history, life and thought
How can you help the Center?
- By being aware of the need to maintain and preserve the records of congregations, committees, conferences, institutions, families and individuals
- By submitting your contributions of historical and archival materials to the Center
- By becoming a supporter of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies
- By contributing funds for specific research projects, seminars or publications
The Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies is located at the south end of the Tabor College Library. Our regular hours are 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.- 4 p.m. on Monday – Friday with reduced summer hours. We are open to students, faculty, visiting scholars, and the public. Your contributions of historical and archival materials are welcome.
Resources
The Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies has a rich library of resources and databases that are available online and in person.
We’ve Come This Far by Faith
Books Available for Purchase
Then The Rules Changed
by Carolyn Zeisset
The story of Isaac, a young German-from-Russia Mennonite who struggles to understand the circumstances that lead to his family immigrating to Kansas.
Great for young readers and parents/grandparents wanting to explain Mennonite heritage to children/grandchildren. Available for $19.50 (price includes shipping & handling).
Terror, Faith and Relief: The Famine in Russia and Our Trip Around the World
by D.M. Hofer (translated by Katie Funk Wiebe)
A first-hand account of the suffering that took place in post-World War I Russia. Hofer details his and his wife’s experience serving with the American Mennonite Relief Association (AMRA) during the devastating Russian famine as well as their travels around the world. Available for $46 (price includes shipping & handling).
Purchase your copy today!
Email Peggy Goertzen (peggyg@tabor.edu) or Angela Vix (angelavix@tabor.edu) to place your order!
Replicas of the P.C. Hiebert Medallion
As chair of the newly organized relief committee, Mennonite Central Committee, P.C. Hiebert was given a “thank you” gift—a medallion made from bullets that had taken the lives of Mennonites in the Chortitza colony of Ukraine, 1922, bullets dug out of village walls and roads. The medallion was a precious message of gratitude, depicting on one side a ship carrying food and clothing supplies and on the other side starving children receiving bread from the American Mennonites. The German Inscription (translated) read: “We were hungry and you fed us. Thanks to the brethren on the other side of the ocean.” Replicas of the medallion are available for $25.00 plus $3.00 postage.
Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies Staff
Angela Vix
Assistant Director of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies