River East Church - Winnipeg

River East Church (formerly River East Mennonite Brethren Church) has a colourful history. We started in 1963 as Sunday School offshoot designed to help new Japanese-Canadians learn English, and this heart for immigrants and refugees continues to this day. Back then a college was located close to our doors, which made us a bit of a haven for students and professors alike. You won’t have to look too hard to see that influence, either.

In 1990 we were the first in our denomination to invite a woman to be our primary pastor, a choice that continues to have reverberations in our community. The equality of all people in the eyes of God is something close to our heart.

We are an Anabaptist church, part of the Mennonite Brethren denomination, which is itself a diverse mash-up of several other church traditions. But we aren’t only Mennonites, and ‘brethren’ doesn’t include the many strong women in our church, so in 2016 we decided to simplify our name to better welcome everyone in our community.

Yet many things have remained constant over our 50+ years. We seek first to follow Jesus’ example and teachings. We are passionate about peace, social justice and reconciliation. We work to embody a Christ-like spirituality that is honest and emotionally healthy. We value the diversity present in all God’s creation, and work hard to include a multitude of voices and viewpoints, even when it isn’t easy.

We believe Christ’s church is here not only to change individual lives, but the whole world.

Yet at the end of the day, we feel something like a family. We don’t pretend we’re perfect, and we’ve been through some hard times together… but whatever comes, we strive to care for one another.