USA > Iowa > Keokuk County > The English River congregation of the Church of the Brethren > Part 2
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16 Gillin's The Dunkers a Sociological Interpretation (1906), p. 110.
17 Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919), p. 24.
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Mack learned of the Beissel controversy on his arrival. Desiring harmony within the ranks, he attempted to turn Beissel's attention again to the welfare of the entire group, but his efforts antagonized Beissel instead. With a number of influential members who had accepted his teachings, Beissel sought a new location on the banks of the Cocalico River, where he founded a communistic settlement, called Ephrata. He drew many recruits to this colony from the ranks of the Brethren, especially after Mack's death in 1735. In spite of the loss of followers to the Ephrata colony the parent church continued to grow in numbers and to move forward under the stimulus of Mack's leadership. Mack was followed by other capable leaders, one of them Alexander Mack, Jr., who "labored for the welfare of the church." Because of the leadership of men of this type Germantown weathered the storms and extended her in- fluence to many neighboring congregations. As growth continued groups pushed out from here and elsewhere in- to newer, less-settled regions, organizing church bodies throughout Pennsylvania and adjacent Colonies.
The growth of the church from 1724 to 1770 is described as good.18 "The church prospered. Her elders wrought wisely and well. It was no small matter to travel long dis- tances, preach in private houses, organize new congrega- tions and at the same time maintain a growing family in a new country." The Brethren were all Germans and their message was only to Germans, although the population was dominantly English. Their "success was wonder- ful".
Westward Expansion. - By 1770 the Brethren organiza- tion, consisting of about one thousand members, had reached
18 Brumbaugh's A History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and America (1899), p. 333.
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western and southern Pennsylvania and northern and east- ern Maryland; that is, congregations had been organized or ministers had held meetings in different localities in these regions. Thirty years later it had reached Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Missouri. Another quarter of a cen- tury and the Brethren had entered Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois and had organized congregations there. In 1850 one church had been established in Iowa and twenty-five years later members of the sect had settled in Michigan, Kansas, Nebraska, California, and Oregon, some of them as organizers and ministers of local church groups.
By 1900, approximately two centuries after the founding of the first church at Schwarzenau, "settlements" had been planted in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, and Canada, and the total number of communicants or members in the entire organization was more than one hundred thousand.
RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BRETHREN
Owing to the fact that they developed out of reaction to the policies of larger church groups which were socially dif- ferent, the doctrines of the Church of the Brethren pertain primarily to the conduct of the individual. At the time it was founded the Brethren organization represented a small group of like-minded persons, confronted with unfavorable social environment. Heterogeneity of the population pre- vented the getting together of a larger group. Conditions favored an organization as much unlike that of the orthodox churches as possible. The group was, in consequence, severely Protestant in nature with a set of doctrines which were largely negative in character.
Doctrines. - The "tone" of the doctrines suggests that strict obedience was uppermost in the thought of Mack, the founder, who was eager to have the ordinances as "com-
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manded by Christ" accepted and honored. The doctrines and ordinances which were accepted by Mack and his asso- ciates included the following ideals :
a. The Christian life is not a life of correct opinion on matters theological, but a life of piety begun by obedience to the command of Christ to be baptized, which baptism is followed by regeneration.
b. The church is a holy institution composed of those who manifest regeneration by obedience to the commandments of Christ.
c. The means whereby the church shall be preserved a holy institution of pious people is the ban as described in Matthew 18.
d. The ministry is composed of men not highly educated but having scriptural qualifications and chosen from the ranks under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
e. The initiatory rite of the church is baptism of adults only, through threefold or trine immersion.
f. The Lord's supper is a full meal, eaten in the evening, for those only who have shown a pious life of obedience. It includes the rite of feet-washing, according to John 13.
g. The organic law of the church is the Scripture, the New Testament, especially. This contains full provisions for the or- ganization and rites of the church and the statute law of the church, obedience to which is a condition of membership.
h. The state is an institution ordained of God for the existence of powers of government that do not interfere with the conscience of individuals under its jurisdiction. This includes the refusal to take civil oath and to bear arms in defense of their country.
i. Simplicity of life, especially of dress. In keeping with this ordinance members of the church dress plainly after a manner that easily distinguishes them from the world. Also, the church stands opposed to questionable amusements such as the theater, balls, dancing, circuses, etc.19
The fact that the foregoing doctrines and ordinances have been carried down practically unchanged through the gen- erations of two centuries is sufficient proof that they have
19 Adapted from Brumbaugh's History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and America (1899) ; Gillin's The Dunkers a Sociological Interpretation (1906) ; and Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919).
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been recognized as the highest ideals of pure and upright living. Now, as formerly, questions pertaining to the con- duct of different members of the organization are decided according to a literal interpretation of the Scriptures. The power of interpretation in respect to matters of conduct is vested in a governing board which is maintained in con- nection with the annual meeting or conference of the or- ganization. This board is guided in its decisions by the Scriptures. Where there is no "Thus saith the Lord" ap- plying to a question referred to it, the board makes a de- cision according to the spirit and meaning of the Scriptures. That decision is the rule of all churches for such cases as it covers; "All churches shall abide by it and any member who shall hinder or oppose it shall be dealt with accord- ingly.'20
Government and the Governing Body. - The highest authority in the organization is vested in a body of dele- gates sent from the local congregations and from the State church districts to the annual meeting or conference which convenes at various places. There are forty-seven church districts throughout the United States. Delegates are chosen from the elders, ministry, deacons, and laity and may be either men or women. They must conform to the rules and customs of the church as regards plainness of dress, temperate living, and Christian fellowship. The apportionment of delegates is one for each 200 members or fraction thereof.
District meetings are held yearly in each of the various State church districts. They grew out of necessity as a sort of exchange between local congregations and the an- nual conference. A great deal of the business formerly handled by this higher organization is now disposed of by
20 Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919), p. 200.
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delegates who assemble at some church in one of the several State districts. Local congregations are represented at the district meetings by an apportionment of delegates deter- mined by these meetings. Qualifications of the delegates for district meetings and for the annual meeting are identical.
The local congregation is the most important governing unit in the organization, since its official duty is to carry into effect the principles and work of the church.21 Upon receiving members into membership "it provides an enter- tainment in which they may grow spiritually or it neglects this and leaves them to care for themselves." The privilege of membership rests with the local congregation which may discipline its members, including its officers, and even expel them, but the defendant has the power of appeal to the dis- trict meeting or to the annual meeting for reinstatement in the church.
The local church holds council meetings for the trans- action of business, including the election of officers. Each of these meetings is in charge of a presiding elder. In case the council meeting must consider an embarrassing situa- tion, such as the disciplining of a member, an elder from a neighboring church may be asked to preside.
Candidates for membership in the church must pledge themselves to do all in their power to live in peace and har- mony with their brethren. The basis of their conduct is laid down in Matthew 18 : 15 -"if thy brother shall tres- pass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone : if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother" - and in the Golden Rule, Matthew 7 : 12- "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them : for this is the law and
21 Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919), p. 203.
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the prophets." Members who become subject to discipline are paid a special visit by a deacon, or by some other authorized member who is considered to have a greater in- fluence on the one in need of discipline.
Deacons of the local congregation are elected by the mem- bers, and are installed after having promised to serve faith- fully. Their duties include assisting the ministers, looking after the poor, visiting the sick, and the like. In connection with the church services, they may lead in prayer, bear testi- mony, and read the Scripture lesson.
Ministers are elected by a majority vote of the local church, after prayer and Scripture reading, as a guide in determining qualifications of candidates. If no candidate receives a majority, a second vote is taken, following an additional prayer which precedes an announcement of the vote already taken. Any young man who feels called by the Lord to the ministry may make his desires known to the elders of his church. If his request meets the approval of two-thirds of the local church council, he receives con- sideration as a candidate.
A candidate for the ministry must be sound in faith and doctrine. "He shall not be guilty of filthy lucre and not worldly-minded, but shall have the mind of Christ and withal shall be willing to suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ. As exhorted by the Scriptures, the candidate shall make such preparation as will insure an efficiency approved of God." He is encouraged to take college and Bible train- ing although no educational standard is set for him. If he is unable to secure training at an institution, he may, with whatever help his local congregation may give him, take advantage of a home study course arranged by the Educa- tional Board of the Brethren Church.
The duties of the minister include preaching, administer- ing baptism, and assisting the elders. On proving himself
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efficient the minister is ordained an elder. Additional duties of the elders are serving at communions, presiding at coun- cil meetings, anointing the sick, managing the church, train- ing the local ministers - of whom there may be an indef- inite number - and apportioning them to their duties ac- cording to their experience and ability. Such duties, of course, vary in the different congregations.
Ministers who are financially able to do so are encouraged to preach the gospel without pay, a practice followed in the organization from its beginning. Those who are unable to preach without pay are assisted by the church in pro- portion to the time they devote to the ministry. Churches needing pastors may usually secure them for a reasonable compensation.
Form of Services. - Belief of the Church of the Brethren in the "fundamental doctrines of Christian faith as taught in the Bible and acceptance of the New Testament ordinan- ces as essential" grew out of a reaction toward worship which was considered formal and below the ideals set by the Master. Officials of the church have ever made an earnest attempt to secure the unquestioned allegiance of all Brethren. They have let few opportunities to lead the indifferent and the wayward to the cause of the Master go unheeded.
Preaching services have been foremost among the forms of worship. Sermons are delivered regularly. Results secured through them "depend upon the spiritual power and the intellectual ability of the messenger".22 Sermons delivered by some of the ministers are little more than mere pleas or exhortations.
The sermons are preceded and followed by earnest prayer offered by one or more of the ministers or deacons.
22 Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919), p. 228.
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The prayers are usually long and sometimes tedious to younger members of the congregation. Each is usually concluded with the Lord's Prayer. Prayer is offered while members of the congregation kneel. Prayer covering is worn by each of the sisters.
Singing forms an important part of each service. In many of the churches it is conducted without the aid of a musical instrument, owing to the fact that the piano has not been sanctioned by the governing board of the organiza- tion. Without accompaniment, singing is often far short of what may be termed music, but in many of the local churches trained choristers are available, and in spite of the lack of musical instruments, some of the choristers have been able to get splendid harmony from the congregations.
The Sunday school, which is comparatively new with the Brethren, has been encouraged and promoted during the past quarter of a century, by means of a general Sunday school board. The local school is under the supervision of a superintendent, assisted by a chorister. Graded lessons are now used and approximately 200,000 pieces of literature are distributed annually. "A five-year standard set re- cently by the Sunday school board, includes among its aims 100 new schools started, $40,000 for missions, 15,000 new pupils, prayerful effort to lead unconverted attendants to Christ and daily study of the Sunday school lesson from the open Bible.'23
The Christian Workers' Meeting, a fairly recent organ- ization, provides practical work for the young people of the church. Local groups of this organization hold Sunday evening programs in which both old and young persons take part. Programs usually include topics assigned to differ- ent members for special study and discussion. Participa-
28 Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919), p. 185.
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tion in these programs tends to develop "the thinking and speaking of the young people.'24
The annual love feast is regarded as one of the main "seasons" of worship by the Church of the Brethren. It is often the occasion for visits from neighboring elders and pastors, and provides a means of deepening the religious life and broadening the social realm of the local congrega- tion. The feasts usually convene on Saturday afternoon. The sermon of the afternoon is followed by the Lord's supper, a full meal, which is concluded with the "bread", the "cup", the handshake, the holy kiss, and a "God bless you". Just preceding the eating of the supper which is covered on the table the rite of feet-washing is administered according to John 13 : 4-5-"He laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded." Both brethren and sisters, each sex at different tables, participate in the service. A brief sermon or a prayer con- cludes the evening program. The love feast closes with Sunday services which are identical with those of other Sundays, except that the prayer may be offered and the sermon may be delivered by a visiting preacher.
Previous to the love feast, members of the local church are visited by one of the ministers, deacons, or laity. This is for the purpose of strengthening the bond of Christian fellowship. These visits, in the boyhood days of the writer, were occasions for reverence and prayer. They tended to renew the faith of the "visited" in the gospel.
The love feast has been a great social influence in the life of the Brethren. It has provided a common "meeting level" for all members of the local unit. The meals have
24 Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919), p. 225.
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had a social air about them not provided in any other way in the average Brethren community, and the meetings are anticipated with pleasure by both adults and children. Sun- day services concluding the feasts are attended by larger audiences than usual both by members and non-members of the church. The exchange of greetings and ideas pre- ceding and following the different services creates a feel- ing of friendliness and a spirit of loyalty to the church.
Benevolence. - The Church of the Brethren has always held the relief of its poor and dependents as a duty. Mem- bers of the local congregations are quick to help one an- other in distress. In addition, the church body for more than a century has provided for poor widows and their children. For more than a half century it has encouraged the building and maintenance of homes for its aged and its orphans. At present it has fifteen of these homes, using 1500 acres of land, and valued at $150,000. These are con- veniently located throughout the various church districts.
Industries and Occupations. - The Brethren are pri- marily an agricultural people. Driven from the fertile lands of the Rhine Valley, the founders of the organization turned westward to the lands of William Penn. They had heard of the agricultural advantages of the lands and the opportunities in Pennsylvania. They had been told that the land raised farm crops, fruits, and garden produce in abundance. Their attention had been called to the luxuriant grasses upon which horses and cattle could be raised and kept. "The land is full of buffaloes and elk", they had been told, "twenty or thirty of which were found together."25 They had been informed that they might find flesh enough to eat from wild animals and that they could
25 Gillin's The Dunkers a Sociological Interpretation (1906), quoting from Pennypacker's Historical and Biographical Sketches, p. 186.
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thereby live better than the richest nobleman. Such a de- scription might have attracted the most unworthy from any land of "oppression", but the fact that the Brethren emi- grants came from a high type of farming population has long been unquestioned. They showed their judgment in their tendency to settle in fertile valleys in this country and in the zeal with which they cleared the land and planted it to crops. John L. Gillin holds that the Brethren are pri- marily farmers, ever alive to their business interests and quick to seize opportunities offered.26 "Their appreciation is keen in matters pertaining to agriculture .... they are alive to the greatest discoveries, buy the most improved farm machinery, take the best farm papers and attend county and state fairs in order to keep abreast of all that is best in the world in which they are concerned."
It should be noted, however, that not all Brethren are farmers. There are Brethren business men, produce dealers, artisans, and laborers in some cities. There are also active produce dealers, carpenters, teamsters, and the like, among the Brethren in many villages.
Education. - During the century and a quarter follow- ing their arrival in America the Brethren were indifferent and even hostile to higher education. With the exception of Christopher Sauer, Jr., and a few like-minded followers, they looked upon higher learning as a process following which the "educated would fail to return to the humble ways of the Lord." Sauer's father, Christopher Sauer, Sr., a graduate of Marburg University in Germany, is credited with the honor of "transplanting German printing to the New World .... He edited and printed the first German newspaper in America . ... and issued books, pamphlets and magazines in great profusion . .. . He was actuated by
26 Gillin's The Dunkers a Sociological Interpretation (1906).
.
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the big purpose of providing the most useful reading matter for his fellow countrymen in their new environment."27
Christopher Sauer, Jr., led in the founding of the Ger- mantown Academy in 1759. Later he served as president of the board of trustees of the Academy. He is character- ized as having been favorable to education, and he was an active champion of a broad and liberal education. His in- terest in behalf of the Germantown Academy was largely non-sectarian. His devotion to education was based upon a broad charity for the poor and needy.
In spite of Sauer's interest in education, the Brethren continued to regard learning as contrary to their religious well-being far into the nineteenth century. As late as 1852 the annual meeting voted unfavorably on the question, "How is it considered by the Brethren if the Brethren aid and assist in the building of great houses for high schools and send their children to the same?" It was the opinion of the meeting that the Brethren should be cautious of minding the high things of life and should condescend to men of low estate.28
By 1850, however, the church included a few friends of education. This number increased gradually and the senti- ment for a higher education than that of the common school became too great to be resisted. The period of hostility and indifference to education changed to one of favor, through contacts with individuals and groups of other sects. This was inevitable in the great movement of expansion whereby the Brethren were brought face to face with lead- ers of other groups. Elements of superiority in these leaders and in many other individuals with whom they came
27 Flory's Literary Activities of the Brethren in the Eighteenth Century (1908), p. 38.
28 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the General Mission Board, 1909, p. 130.
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in contact were a challenge for higher education in the Church of the Brethren. The challenge was accepted. The first Brethren school was opened at New Vienna, Ohio, in 1861, and the first college was established at Bourbon, Northern Indiana District, in 1870.
The little "leaven" grew rapidly. During the half century between 1870 and 1920, the church established ten colleges, which it is now maintaining in a creditable manner. All of these colleges are under the supervision of a general educational board, appointed at the annual meeting, as pro- vided for in 1890. This board consists of seven members "whose duty it is to watch over the moral and religious influence of the schools and to see that the principles of the Gospel and church government be carried out as defined by the Annual Meeting."2ยบ The board has recently adopted a positive policy. It plans to carry the forward movement of the church into its colleges and is striving for a realiza- tion of the following aims :
a. Thirty-five hundred students enrolled, with five per cent pur- suing regular college courses.
b. Three hundred thousand dollars raised for endowments.
c. Twenty per cent of all students in regular Bible study, twenty per cent looking forward to definite Christian service and fifty per cent dedicating their lives to the ministry or to mission work.
In the past the main contribution of the Church of the Brethren to society has been "a great mediocre class of substantial, worldly-wise, industrious, economical, peaceful, moral and religious citizens, possessed with more than the common virtues and with few vices."30 With the beginning of the twentieth century, however, we find coming from
29 Winger's History and Doctrines of the Church of the Brethren (1919), p. 176.
80 Gillin's The Dunkers a Sociological Interpretation (1906), p. 213.
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their ranks men of intellectual ability and promise - in- cluding Professor M. G. Brumbaugh, University of Pennsyl- vania; ex-Governor Brumbaugh of Pennsylvania; D. L. Miller, traveler and lecturer; and Dr. D. W. Kurtz, presi- dent of McPherson College. With the growing interest in education as exemplified in the Brethren schools and col- leges many more men of this type will undoubtedly take their places among the leaders of the world.
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