River East Church is a Jesus community for the world.

We invite everyone to join us in living out this mission as followers of Jesus in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition.

This invitation is extended to all persons, whatever their ability, age, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, income level, race, sexual orientation, or other identity distinctives.

All are welcome to full participation in the journey of discipleship.

We strive to live as a community of love, even as we acknowledge our different understandings of Scripture.
In our diversity, we gather around the Lord’s Table to celebrate our unity in Christ.

From 2019-2024, REC engaged in lengthy dialogue with the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, attempting to remain in the Mennonite Brethren denomination while fully embracing the above statment. This was controversial due to the statement's stance toward 'full participation' of members from the LGBTQ+ community. See below for some of our responses from that period of time:

For the story of how we arrived at this statement, see "The REC Story: A Journey Toward Inclusivity."

For some of the biblical and theological background of this statement, see "Talking Points from the Bible for Full Inclusion of LGBTQ+ Persons."

For some remarks of how this statement might interact with the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith, see "The Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith and Full Inclusion of LGBTQ+ Persons at River East Church."

For the story of the end of our membership withing the Mennonite Brethren, see their coverage of the proceedings here.