CMBS plans annual spring dinner, genealogy workshop
The Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies at Tabor College, Hillsboro, is planning two special events for April 21 and 22.
The CMBS annual spring dinner will be held at 6:30 p.m. April 21 in the lobby of the Wohlgemuth Music Education Center building. Dr. Wilmer Harms, North Newton, will be the featured speaker.
"Mennonites Return to Ukraine: Bicentennial Celebration of the Molotschna" will explore how, over the years, Mennonites have come full circle. Immigrants left their homeland in the 1870s and 1880s, but now their descendants are returning to establish and rebuild sites of historical importance.
Harms' interest in Mennonite history began in the 1970s when, after having been appointed to the convention steering committee for the Mennonite World Conference, he was challenged to read at least five books pertaining to Mennonite history.
"By the time I had read three books, I was hooked and began buying books for my personal library," he said. "When I attended subsequent Mennonite World Conferences I found the bookstores at these conventions to be a veritable gold mine where I could obtain a variety of books about Mennonite history, books published recently, as well as books out of print."
Because of this strong interest, Harms has made 11 trips to the former Soviet Union. Of the 15 republics, now known as the Commonwealth of Independent States, he has toured in 10 of them, including Siberia.
Since 1996, he has been a guide and resource person for eight of the annual Mennonite Heritage Cruises in the Ukraine.
Harms has served as chairman of the board of directors for CMBS since August 1978, and currently is in the process of donating and transferring his book collection to the CMBS library. This collection is designated as the Wilmer A. Harms, M.D., Anabaptist Library and will be available for research projects.
The cost of the dinner and program is $12.
A table will be available for the display of items donated to CMBS. Those planning to donate artifacts should bring donor identification. New and used historical books also will be available for purchase.
For those interested in tracing their Mennonite roots, Dr. Tim Janzen, Portland, Ore., will conduct a Mennonite genealogy workshop April 22. The workshop will be held in the Tabor College Library conference room from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
He will give an in-depth presentation on genealogical resources available for those interested in learning more about their Mennonite ancestry. He has developed an extensive outline of hundreds of Mennonite genealogical resources, available at www.timjanzen.com. He will speak from this outline, providing additional details about many of the resources that pertain to the United States, Canada, Russia, West Prussia, Latin America, and the Netherlands.
In addition, he will provide an overview of the GRANDMA database, a genealogical database of more than 876,000 people of Low German Mennonite ancestry that is being developed by the California Mennonite Historical Society. Many Mennonite genealogists have utilized the GRANDMA database as one of their primary resources for Mennonite genealogical information.
He also will discuss new developments in the field of genetic genealogy and will provide insight into how DNA testing can supplement conventional Mennonite genealogical research.
Private consultations with Janzen will be available for registrants between April 21 and 24.
The cost of the workshop is $30.
Reservations for both events must be made by April 17. Contact Peggy Goertzen, CMBS director, at 620-947-3121, ext. 1211 or 1212, to RSVP or request additional information.
