USA > Pennsylvania > Change and challenge: a history of the Church of the Brethren in the southern district of Pennsylvania, 1940-1972 > Part 11
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In 1951, the Waynesboro congregation of Virginia requested the Annual Conference for "minimum educational qualifications for licensing to the ministry". The conference requested the Ministry and Home Missions Commission to prepare a recommended reading list for use by licensed ministers before their ordination. The Three-Year Reading Course was ready for the districts in 1959. In the Southern District, the Elders' Body, meeting in the Shrewsbury congregation, adopted the course as a guide for persons unable to attend college or seminary (1960).
There were objections to the Reading Course. Some men objected to the compulsory aspects of the course. Others objected to the choice of books prescribed for the three years. Charges of "too liberal" were hurled against some of the books. By 1969, the Commission on Ministry and Evangelism permitted some deviation from the original requirements of the course, with "each individual case to be dealt with on its own merits".
In the early 1960's, the District Commission cooperated with Eliza- bethtown College in developing the Reading Course program. During the later 1960s, the commission appointed individuals to instruct in the course. Earl K. Ziegler, Samuel H. Flora Jr. and J. Stanley Earhart and others have counseled with licensed ministers and have directed the reading pro- gram for the district. Harold S. Martin conducted a successful Leader- ship Training series for self-supporting ministry churches in 1971.
Efforts at upgrading the Christian ministry in the 1960s were simply a continuation of efforts begun in the 1940s. In 1941, for example, Dr. Ralph W. Schlosser conducted a course for ministers on Doctrines. Lead-
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ers of the Southern District found the response so gratifying that a second course was offered at the close of World War II.
With the rise of the pastoral system, problems of pastoral recruitment became insistent. Some people felt the Church of the Brethren should return to the practice of calling capable young men instead of waiting for them to volunteer.
"The number one problem of the brotherhood . . . is that of recruiting sufficient pastors. Some of the aspects of this problem are the number of pastors now retiring, the enhanced need for pastoral leadership, the demand upon ministers for other types of church work, young pastors compelled financially to leave the employ of the church, and the meagre recruitment of young men for the ministry."9
The Brotherhood Board employed Eugene G. Carper to make a survey of the brotherhood concerning the recruitment and the conserva- tion of ministers in the Church of the Brethren. This survey of the denomination received responses from 1653 persons in the brotherhood. Most of these people who were either active on a part-time basis or were no longer active in the pastoral ministry. The study disclosed the following interesting points:
1 .- The call of the church is still the vital factor in the decision of men and women to enter the ministry;
2 .- The greatest obstacles to entering the ministry have been the appeal of other professions and the lack of a vital recruitment program in the church; and
3 .- Ministers have most frequently withdrawn from the ministry because of the appeal of other professions, the inadequate salaries of the churches and the pettiness within the churches.10
In the past three decades the district has employed many programs to recruit for the ministry and to upgrade the educational level of the min- istry. The following list merely suggests some of these major efforts:
1 .- Programs similar to the Three Year Reading Course and Ministerial Meetings have had educational values. Many district ministers have improved themselves by travel, by attendance at Massanetta Springs Bible Conferences in Virginia, by camp meeting Bible Conferences, Bethany Extension Courses and by postgraduate studies at colleges and universities. However, an attempt in 1964 to inaugurate a program of pastoral studies in the Holy Lands failed to receive district support.
2 .- Summer pastoral programs, inaugurated by Bethany Biblical Seminary and the General Mission Board, were supported by the district. The Lower Conewago, Buffalo, Chambersburg, Newville, Rouzerville, Three Springs, Waynesboro and York Second congrega- tions have cooperated with the program since its beginnings in the late 1930s. This program has afforded pastoral experience and finan- cial support to young ministers who are completing their schooling.
3 .- Student loans, authorized as early as 1940, established financial assistance for those who wished to forward their ministerial education. These loans were increased as tuition rates rose. The District Min- istry Commission developed the practice of discounting ten percent of the loan for each year of service rendered by the worker to the denomination.
4 .- A Ministerial and Missionary Pension Plan was begun by the Church of the Brethren in 1943. The plan is open to any minister and church worker in the denomination. In order to encourage pastors to continue in the pastoral ministry, the first minimum Pastors' Salary Schedule was adopted in 1960 by the lay delegates of the Annual Conference.
5 .- In response to the charges that youth did not know or con- sider church vocations because they did not know what vocations were available, a series of Church Vocations Conferences were conducted at various locations in the district. Such conferences had been con-
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ducted in 1963 in the Presbyterian Churches to acquaint youth with the pastoral ministry, Christian Education, music vocations, mission work, campus ministries, institutional work, church recreation pro- grams and children's work. The Southern District of Pennsylvania conducted a similar series beginning at the Gettysburg Church on April 30, 1965. At this conference, there were eighty-six youth present from nineteen congregations. Similar conferences have been conducted at Mechanicsburg (1966), Codorus (1967) and York First Church (1968).
6 .- In 1964 the Elders' Body proposed a system of sponsors for licensed ministers in the district. Ordained and experienced ministers were selected to advise and encourage younger men to grow into the ordained ministry.
7 .- The District Commission on Ministry and Evangelism requested a single expiration date for the licenses of ministers, the date to fall at the District Conference of each year. "At District Conference, all licensed ministers are to be present for an appropriate service for relicensing conducted by the District Ministry and Evangelism Com- mission."
8 .- By 1952, the Annual Conference granted women equal rights with men in the ministry. In the United States, the number of women in the ministry had more than doubled in the decade from 1940-1950, reaching an all-time high of 6,777 women in the ministry.11 The Southern District has had five women to serve in the ministry since 1940. These are: Zola Detweiler, Lois Norris, Stella (Buffen- myer) Markley, Florence Murphy and Jeanne L. Jacoby.
9 .- In order to encourage openness and understanding between laymen and pastors, a series of Church-Pastor Workshops was con- ducted in 1970. These workshops were held at the York First Church, the Mechanicsburg Church and the Greencastle Church, Similar work- shops had been conducted in 1966 at three locations.
ELDERSHIP
The rise of the pastoral ministry and the gradual restoration of lay- men to positions of leadership within the congregations gave rise to con- cerns about the functions of the elder. At the district level, the Elders' Body was superseded by the District Board. The Annual Conference Standing Committee admitted lay delegates as early as 1954. The Annual District Conference permitted lay moderators as early as 1959. By 1960, lay members of the denomination were granted the right to be chosen moderators of the Annual Conference. All of these changes in the congre- gations and the brotherhood led to the conviction that there were few differ- ences in the functions of an elder and an ordained minister.
The eldership is not peculiar to the Church of the Brethren. Other denominations have used the office and have witnessed similar changes. The seventeenth century Congregational Churches of New England once had "ruling elders", but in time their duties were found to be similar to those of pastors. The Methodists have had "presiding elders" since the late 1700s. Even here, however, the eldership office has faced a loss of function. The Church of the Brethren has had elders since the colonial period. The denomination never tried to define the function of an elder until 1877. In practice, the elder was simply an overseer of a congregation.
The 1967 Annual Conference voted to phase out the eldership because "the former functions of an elder are almost encompassed now in the duties of qualified lay members and ordained ministers".12 The conference agreed that the twentieth century has moved the church beyond the patriarchal concept of church government to a more democratic one and voted to discontinue the degree of ministry known as "elder". The ques-
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tion had been bothersome as early as 1928. As the conference of this year a report said:
... in changing to the single pastor plan in the ministry of our congregation, we have more or less lost the help of district elders, which tends to make our congregations separate and independent".13
The 1967 decision was clear-cut. After the delegates defeated a pro- posed amendment to permit districts to maintain the office of elder if they desired, they voted to discontinue the office of "elder". The self-supporting ministry congregations considered the action harmful to their style of ministry. Eight Southern District congregations presented queries appeal- ing for the right to elect their own elders and to continue the office in their congregations. These queries were respectfully returned because the conference had earlier passed a paper permitting any local congregation the right to continue the office of elder as a local church office.14 In 1968, eight congregations were granted the right to continue the office of elder and to elect their own elders as they were needed. These con- gregations were Antitam, Belvidere, Back Creek, Falling Spring, Lower Cumberland, New Fairview, Pleasant Hill, Upper Conewago and Upper Marsh Creek.
DEACON'S OFFICE
A survey of the Annual Conference actions with respect to the office of deacon shows similar changes. By 1919, the church said the deacon should "look after the needs and temporal interests of the poor and un- fortunate in the church". They were also assigned to the preparation of the Lovefeast and Communion services; they assisted in baptismal services; and, on occasions aided the elder or pastor in the anointing services. A statement of 1942 extended the service of the deacon to include assistance in the program of evangelism, pulpit supply and the conducting of the annual visit of the church membership.
The prevailing custom throughout the brotherhood for several centuries has been to elect a deacon for a life term after a period of probation. By 1956, however, congregations were granted the privileges of electing deacons to office for a term. The length of the term was to be determined by the congregation. The office of deacon is now widely considered a local church position. A deacon moving from one congregation to another must be reelected to the office in the new congregation (1956).
EVANGELISM
The slow growth of the denomination has been a cause of concern among district and brotherhood leaders. This slow pace has been attributed to the fact that the denomination has held to a conformist stance, has not been too evangelistic and has been hindered by the absence of a full- time clery. A note in The Gospel Messenger in 1942 said: "During the past decade evangelistic emphasis within some churches has declined".15 Charges have been made that the denomination has been nonevangelistic in the past.16
Evangelism has become more essential than ever in our changed society. There is no guarantee that children will follow in their parent's footsteps and adopt their religious loyalties in our mobile and dynamic society. The call for revival has not only been heard by those who sympathize with the Brethren Revival Fellowship but from others as well. William L. Gould was selected to act as an evangelism counselor to the churches of the region. An Evangelism Meeting in the Mchanics- burg Church on February 7, 1970 revealed excellent interest on the part
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of district laymen in the need for evangelism. At this meeting, Dr. Charles Kerr, pastor of the First Methodist Church of Lancaster, shared with more than a hundred laymen and ministers the plan of lay involvement in evangelism used by his congregation. The Black Rock congregation of the district (1971), the Madison Avenue congregation (1972) and the Hanover congregation (1972) have been involved in similar lay programs.
There was widespread discussion of a revival in Christianity in the 1970s. More than 130 religious groups consented to participate in a project known as "Key '73". The Church of the Brethren agreed to cooperate in this "Christian blitz" on the North American continent.
The plan was fostered in 1968 by forty representatives of conservative Protestant Churches in a gathering close to the Francis Scott Key Bridge at Washington, D. C. This emphasis in evangelism was designed to be the most comprehensive evangelistic thrust ever known in the nation. In 1973, churches of all denominations joined in witnessing, in hymn sings, in house-to-house canvasses, prayer group meetings and preaching missions. "Key '73" was meant to restore evangelism to a place of respect and prominence in the life of the Christian Church.
Each major evangelistic effort in earlier ages had a primary thrust and some continuing cultural effect. Dwight L. Moody (1870s-1880s) considered it his chief duty to reach the unchurched masses in the new urban centers and to combat the complacency and agnosticism the post- Darwinian age. Billy Graham (1950s-1960s) fought secularism, moral relativism and liberalism by seeking a return to the old-fashioned religion. Whether these movements of revival in recent years will be effective will depend on whether they also bring lasting results in education, social reform and the struggle to achieve a warless world.
WORSHIP AND ARCHITECTURE
Anyone who builds a church must become a theologian. At the be- ginning he must ask what worship is and who it is for whom the church house is to be built. If all other functions of the church were usurped by other institutions of society, the church would continue to maintain its major function as a worship-center. William Temple once stated that the church's hope to redeem the world resides in a return to the kind of worship experience which quickens the conscience by the presence of God, feeds the mind on the truth of God, purges the imagination with the light of God and opens the heart to the will of God.
People reared in the Pietist tradition associate worship with life. The experiences of worship become a grateful commitment of life to God and a joyful celebration of life's experiences. The worshiper does much more than attend services. He learns to view life in the perspective of God's purposes and prepares himself for service in God's world. The Pietism with which the Church of the Brethren has been associated is the promoter of service beyond the sanctuary.
The denomination has traditionally maintained the centrality of the pulpit. The spoken word and the spoken Scripture have been essential features of public worship. The original meetinghouses had their preach- ing and their reading desks. Early twentieth century church houses placed the pulpit in the center of an elevated platform. When the divided chancel was introduced in the past several decades to the denomination, the preaching desk and the reading desk were preserved. The communion table was elevated to a central position in the church to symbolize fellow- ship and sacrifice.
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Perhaps the essence of the Protestant faith has been expressed by the eighteenth century French Protestants (Huguenots). They frequently worshiped out-of-doors around a portable pulpit. Many early Protestant churches were based on a square or octagonal floor plan, with a central pulpit. Only in comparatively recent years have churches adopted the longitudinal church with the pulpit, altar and choir loft at one end away from the congregation. Early meetinghouses of Southern Pennsylvania have preserved raised platforms for the congregation so that the pulpit could remain central.
The Church of the Brethren continues to stress the importance of preaching. Lenten preaching services, preaching missions, evangelistic endeavors, morning and evening preaching each Sunday have been estab- lished features of the denomination's life. Noted guest speakers have been used for Homecoming events, anniversaries, Rally Days and Dedica- tion Days. In 1947, the Pastors' Association of the brotherhood produced a volume of sermons entitled, Brethren Preaching Today. Bernard N. King and S. S. Blough, former pastors of the Southern District, were contribu- tors to this volume.
The congregations of the Southern District have been witnessing a changing life-style. Where once all congregations were devoted to worship-preaching styes of ministry, some congregations have begun to experiment with new ways to promote community within their member- ships. Social activities, from church suppers to church fairs, have become a part of the church's program. Even as early as 1855 in America, churches were pictured as "more like busy Martha than like pensive Mary". Critics of social activities in the churches have been numerous. However, it remains that churches continue to use such methods in order to promote community within their own memberships and their own neighborhoods.
The church has become increasingly institutional in nature. It has looked for renewal, growth and prosperity by encouraging a wide variety of social events. In the 1920s and 1930s, in order to restore the flagging zeal of its membership, many urban churches resorted to institutional programs designed to satisfy the social more than the spiritual needs of the membership. This was the period of the parish house, the recreation hall and club activities.
With the rise of social programs in the church came a decline in the prayer meeting. Prayer services were once supported in large numbers. They provided the occasion for Bible study and discussion. The prayer service also functioned as a confessional for the church. It may be that the present tendency of the minister to spend so much time in counseling is related to the absence of the church-wide prayer meeting.
The changing life-style of the church is also reflected in new archi- tectural forms. Many Southern District congregations, involved in build- ing programs in the 1950s and the 1960s, broke with "the-little-white- church-in-the-country" concept of architecture. Church architects had greater freedom in planning with new kinds of materials. The result was a revolution in church designs. Churches are no longer constructed from a single pattern as the one-story, red-brick meetinghouse was. A wider variety of architecture is evident within the district.
Genuine worship does not depend on the design or the size of the building. Brethren continue to worship in old-style buildings and in new- style ones, in meetinghouses and chapels, in red-brick structures and in stone sanctuaries. Vital experiences of religion are not limited to one kind of structure but may occur in the most inauspicious places. Moses wor-
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shiped in a burning bush and Christ met on an eventful evening with his disciples in an upper room.
In terms of architectural change, the district has witnessed three stages of growth:
1) .- Early meetings were often conducted in houses. When people visited with each other, or whenever they remained overnight, these gath- erings frequently were accompanied by the singing of hymns, the reading of scriptures and by prayers. When such groups became too large, services were conducted in schoolhouses or barns.
2.)-Meetinghouses were constructed in the nineteenth century. These buildings were severely plain and without conveniences. The simplicity of design and lack of symbols was itself a symbol of a noncreedal church which shunned luxury. Most churches did not have bells. In 1865, bells were still controversial and the conference decided not to permit their use. The preaching desks and the platforms were kept on a level with the congregation.
3) .- Next came the church sanctuaries with Sunday School rooms and fellowship space attached. These buildings were frequently con- structed with longitudinal sanctuaries, the pulpit at one end and the pews at the other. The pulpit was often elevated with several steps and the entire arrangement suggested a hierarchical distinction between the clergy and the laity.
In the newer church buildings the area for worship still dominates. However, it is complemented with adjoining areas for cribs and play pens, kitchens, social halls, youth parlors, libraries, Sunday School class rooms and offices for administrative and counseling functions.
Many congregations have returned to a liberal use of symbolism. The church once avoided art and rich architectural styles. The design and the ritual of early church life was ascetic. The new buildings within the Southern District have tried to preserve simplicity in detail and good proportion in the use of materials. The Gettysburg Marsh Creek Church and the Codorus Church have initiated a pattern of returning to symbols associated with the Brethren past. The towel and the basin, the cup and the loaf, and the seal of Alexander Mack have been used frequently in worship services and in permanent art designs within the buildings.
Most congregations continue to use the Communion table as a perma- nent symbol within the sanctuary. With the arrival of the divided chancel, concern was expressed about the meaning of the new architecture. For some congregations the Communion table has been converted into a substitute altar. Although this transformation has not proven acceptable to many members of the denomination, it represents the diverse views which are often held concerning the meaning of the Communion. The Church of the Brethren has consistently refused to legislate concerning belief and symbolism in the local church.
The Church of the Brethren has often been characterized as non- liturgical. It is true that the church of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries avoided any semblance of formalism. The modern Church of the Brethren, however, has its forms and symbols. "Nonliturgical" todays suggests that each congregation is free to develop its own style of worship. Where churches exercise this privilege, orders of service and rituals become nearly as inflexible as those of liturgical churches. The traditional nonliturgical service has resolved itself into an order which centers chiefly about the clergyman and the choir.
One of the most dramatic ordinances of the Church of the Brethren is the Lovefeast and Communion drama. The entire congregation engages in a three-fold service consisting of a foot-washing rite, a Lovefeast
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service and the Communion of bread and cup. In a meeting twice yearly, the congregation reenacts and recalls the events associated with Jesus' last night with his disciples. The meal, prepared by the deacons of the congregation, consists of lamb or beef, broth and bread. In most congre- gations, the meal is eaten in reverent silence and as a symbol of the love which exists between the members of the congregation.
The Lovefeast and Communion service is observed in varying forms in each congregation. In most, the threefold rite is observed in the main sanctuary of the church. In other congregations, worshipers may proceed from a fellowship hall to the sanctuary for the climaxing portion of the service. Some congregations follow printed Orders of Service, and others prefer to proceed without benefit of such aids. A few congregations con- tinue to lift the traditional "Deacon's Offering" to support the poor and the needy of the church.
The Lovefeast, with its dramatic acts, is both liturgical and symbolic. The towel and the basin became the symbol of a servant people who are ready to assume the redemptive roles of the Christian in society. The Lovefeast tables symbolize the table fellowship of a people who deeply care for one another. The observance of this service proceeds logically and Scripturally from an act of cleansing and service to fellowship and cli- maxes in the covenant of the bread and the cup.
For many years, the Communion of the Church of the Brethren was closed to members of other faiths. Those who wrote Studies in Doctrine and Devotion stated the reason for "closed communions": "persons who believe and practice in a certain way cannot consistently commune with those who do not." This attitude has changed in many congregations so that today open communion is practiced and the Lord's tables are open to all Christians. There are strong feelings abroad in the Christian Church that the total church should restore the Lovefeast (Agape) as a means of dramatizing the Christian message.
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