The EMC Church in Blumenort has changed its name.

Senior Pastor Barry Plett says since the 1950s their official name was Evangelical Mennonite Church of Blumenort. But they have changed their name to Blumenort Community Church.

But, Plett says Blumenort is a very different community today. It consists of residents from all different ethnicities and the community has become quite transient, where people often move away after only a few months or years of living there.

Plett says they began to realize that the word 'Mennonite' for most people was more of a cultural term than having to do with conviction or doctrine.

"There were many people who didn't even consider coming to our Church because they were not from that cultural background," he says. "In a similar way, maybe some of us wouldn't consider going to a Chinese Church or a Filipino Church."

Plett says the Church began to realize that it probably needed to change its identity and a name change seemed like an appropriate place to start. He notes they are still part of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference.

"It does not change our affiliation," says Plett. "In fact, more than fifty per cent of the churches that are affiliated with EMC, do not have Mennonite in their church name."

Plett says their Church has a preschool but in no way did that motivate the name change.

The decision to change the name of their Church was not made lightly. Plett says this was a conversation that started about five or six years ago. He notes the biggest part in changing a church name is to have the conversation with members and come to an agreement.

"That took some time," he says.

And not everyone was immediately on board. Plett says anytime there is a change in the church there are those who embrace it right from the start, there are those who take some time to think it through and then those for whom the sentimental history is significant and for whom it is tough to change.

"But I think our conviction and our mission to make a difference for Christ in our community is something that drives us in this direction and so there is enthusiasm with what we've done," he says.

From a technical standpoint, Plett says the name change was not as difficult as they expected. He says many organizations have an operating name that is different from their technical name. In the case of their church, he says they discovered that all along they had been using their operating name. Though their official name was Evangelical Mennonite Church of Blumenort, Plett says they referred to themselves as BEMC.

Changing the name comes at a financial cost, but Plett says it has not been a big deal. And, he says the process is not complete, noting here is not yet a sign outside the Church.