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Background The first American settlement of the '' and the ''Conservative (Amish) Mennonite Conference''. Most of the churches in the conference movement eventually merged with other Mennonite groups. The Old Order Amish continue to worship in private homes (in the German language) and reject innovations in both worship and lifestyle. Some congregations were theologically in between the extremely conservative Old Order Amish and the more progressive conference Amish Mennonites. These churches did not join the Amish Mennonite conferences, but, unlike the Old Order Amish, were open to the use of meetinghouses, and the organization of missionary, publication, social service, and Sunday school work. Representatives of these congregations met in conference in Pigeon, Michigan , on November 24-25, 1910 , and adopted the name ''Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference''. ''Amish'' was dropped and the current name taken when a revised constitution was adopted in 1957 . Faith and practice The ''Conservative Mennonite Conference'' subscribes to the "Mennonite Confession of Faith of 1963", and adopted a "Conservative Mennonite Statement of Theology" in 1991 . The statement follows orthodox Trinitarian Christian patterns of belief with typical Mennonite emphasis. Baptism is a church ordinance, which may be performed by either pouring or immersion. Communion and Feet Washing are also observed. According to their mission statement: "The Conservative Mennonite Conference exists to glorify God by equipping leaders and congregations for worship, teaching, fellowship, service, and making disciples by providing resources and conference structures with an evangelical, Anabaptist, and conservative theological orientation." Women may engage in ministry, but leadership and ordination is restricted to men. Two meetings are held annually, one in February for the ministers, and another in August for the general public. The executive board and the general secretary are elected at the ministers' meeting to oversee day-to-day operations. Status The ''Conservative Mennonite Conference'' is a North American body. In 2000 the conference had 10,223 members in 104 congregations in the United States . There was one congregation in Red Lake, Ontario , Canada. There are related bodies in other nations, such as the ''Costa Rica Mennonite Conference'' (org. 1974) and the ''Nicaragua Mennonite Conference'' (org. 1977). The ''Brotherhood Beacon'', an official monthly periodical, began in 1971 . Before this the conference published the ''Herold der Wahrheit'', a semi-monthly publication, starting in 1912 , and later the ''Missionary Bulletin'', a quarterly, starting in 1952 . Headquarters, the Rosedale Bible College, and the offices of Rosedale Mennonite Missions are located in Irwin, Ohio . The ''Conservative Mennonite Conference'' maintains a loose relationship with the Mennonite Church (the largest Mennonite denomination), through representatives on some of its major boards. External links
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