MMHS Conscientious Objectors committee Report

MMHS has been involved with the EAF (Evangelical Anabaptist Fellowship) in presenting a 1.5-2 hour service of story telling and songs about people who have stood for peace. At the centre of the event is the story told by Dora Maendel about the Hutterite experience in the First World War. An offering is taken for expenses, educational materials and the establishment of monuments to conscientious objectors. In November the group had two presentations in the Saskatoon area. Requests for the presentations continue to come in. In Manitoba to date Steinbach (2x), Altona, Winkler, Morden, Rosenort, and Winnipeg have hosted this event. The latest will be a Sunday morning service at Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship in Winnipeg on April 19.

We continue to raise funds for the establishment of monuments. A letter was sent to several Mennonite conferences. So far we have received pledges from the Chortitzer Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba.

A monument is slated for the new Heritage Park in Winkler sometime this summer and Steinbach also continues to be on the list for a monument. A face-to-face meeting was held with officials from Riding Mountain National Park to explore the feasibility of establishing a monument in the park where the greatest concentration of Manitoba COs worked. The meeting was positive but more work needs to be done.

The EAF is also promoting plaques for individual churches to purchase and mount in church buildings that commemorate the CO experience.

Submitted by Conrad Stoesz