USA > Pennsylvania > Change and challenge: a history of the Church of the Brethren in the southern district of Pennsylvania, 1940-1972 > Part 24
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In 1965-1966, the Zieglers had a Korean exchange student in their home for a year. Hyun-joo-Yun was a superb soloist who participated in the local youth choir and had the privilege of singing as a soloist at the Ocean Grove Annual Conference. The youth choir of the congregation not only made concert tours but produced a recording of their musical selections.
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On September 1, 1970, Charles M. Bieber became the second full-time pastor of the Black Rock congregation. Both he and his wife, Mary Beth, served for thirteen years as missionaries in Nigeria. Charles has also sat as a member of the General Brotherhood Board of the Church of the Brethren, part of this time as chairman of the World Ministries Commission (1968- ). The Biebers moved to the Black Rock parson- age from the Big Swatara congregation where they had ministered as pastor.
The congregation became involved in a Lay Witness Mission in October, 1971. This mission brought fifty-four volunteer laymen to the church from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania in order to share their faith with the Black Rock membership. They paid their own way to and from the Black Rock meetinghouse just to witness to what Christ means to them and to share in the Christian fellowship". Twelve com- mittees were formed to implement the mission within the life of the congregation.
The Black Rock Church continues to serve a rural-oriented community and has shown encouraging growth within the past three decades. The church membership increased from 300 in 1942 to 573 in 1972.
THE BOILING SPRINGS CONGREGATION
The present Boiling Springs Church building at Fourth and Walnut Streets was erected in 1875. It is a single story, red-brick building cut after the pattern of the early meetinghouses of the Brethren. It was originally a part of the Lower Cumberland congregation and remained under its care until 1934.
On September 27, 1934, a council meeting was conducted at the Boiling Springs Church by the Lower Cumberland congregation. The purpose of the meeting was to effect a division of the congregation. At this meeting, the name "Boiling Springs" was officially adopted for the new church. The council also recommended ownership for the congrega- tion of the Baker meetinghouse and the Boiling Springs house. The church organized itself with an Official Board constituted of two ministers and three deacons. The ministers were Otho Hassinger and Robert Cocklin. The deacons were Charles Trimmer, Herman Carr and Harry Bixler. B. F. Lightner was chosen as the presiding elder.1
Boiling Springs Church
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When the Baker's meetinghouse was razed, materials were taken from this building and were used to place an addition to the Boiling. Springs house (1935). The addition was used as a preparation room for the bi- annual Lovefeasts and Communions and as a Sunday School room. The first Lovefeast and Communion service at the new congregation was held in November, 1935.
In 1937, J. Albert Cook began to serve the congregation as pastor. He continued to serve in this capacity until 1967. For most of these years he also served as elder-in-charge. Until the 1950s, services were con- ducted twice per month. J. Albert Cook was succeeded by Clarence B. Sollenberger, who labored as part-time pastor from 1967 until 1969.
J. Albert Cook and Mary Cook
The church has observed a number of special events in the past thirty years. In 1954, Elder John Hershman was the guest speaker for a Homecoming service in October. In this same year, young people of the congregation presented a picture of Christ Praying in Gethsemane for use in the chancel area.
The Boiling Springs congregation regularly joins with the community churches in Union Thanksgiving services and in Week of Prayer services at the beginning of each year. In addition, members have met for Bible Institutes with leaders from the district and from Elizabethtown College. Rally Days and evangelistic meetings have also been observed frequently over the years.
The congregation purchased a new two-manual Hammond organ during the summer of 1956. On December 16, 1956, a service of dedication was conducted for the organ. New Brethren Hymnals were also purchased for use during the Sunday School and worship services.
Other improvements have been made to the church house. In No- vember, 1960, new carpet was purchased and placed in the sanctuary. The interior of the sanctuary was painted in December, 1970. In 1972, the church council agreed that the men of the congregation shall refinish the pews in the sanctuary.
In 1970, the church council voted to enter into a yoked pastoral agree- ment with the Carlisle congregation. It was at this time the church agreed that Newton L. Poling, the Carlisle pastor, should also begin to serve the religious needs of the Boiling Springs Church. Preaching services are now conducted each Sunday at a time prior to the Sunday School hour.
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During the years of its existence, Sunday School services have been conducted regularly for the people of the area. The Sunday School super- intendents who have served since 1940 are: Herman Carr, Wesley Crusey, Charles C. Carothers, Donald W. Long, William P. Bixler, Ralph Gasswint and Andrew Landis.
The elders-in-charge of the church have included John E. Rowland ( -1940), Henry L. Miller (1941), W. Grant Group (1942) and J. Albert Cook (1943- ). The following deacons have also served the congrega- tion: Herman Carr, Harry M. Bixler, Mervin Trimmer, Charles C. Caroth- ers and Donald W. Long.
Until very recently, the Boiling Springs Church has been served by a part-time ministry. Once located in a flourishing agricultural section of Cumberland County, the congregation today is in a region which has become urbanized. It has had difficulty with membership because of a mobile population and because of its proximity to larger congregations. Many people have tended to identify with the larger congregations be- cause they have been able to promote greater program diversity.
THE BUFFALO CONGREGATION
The fertile Buffalo Valley in Union County was once the home of herds of buffalo. Now, fine Holstein cattle graze over lands underlaid with limestone. The first members of the Church of the Brethren entered this valley in 1772 when Wendell Becker (Baker) moved here with his family. The first recorded meetings of the Brethren were in the home of John Baker, the son of Wendell (1816).
The Buffalo Church
The original Brethren grew slowly in numbers until 1826 when the congregation was formally organized. John G. Royer and his wife pur- chased a farm near Vicksburg southeast of the present Buffalo Church and about five miles southwest of Lewisburg (1823). In the fall of 1826, visiting Brethren from the Lost Creek congregation and from
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Huntingdon County organized the church in the farm home of John G. Royer. According to the oldest records and Minutes of the congregation, the official name of the church is "Buffalo Church of the Brethren".
The Buffalo congregation has had a number of meetinghouses since the work began. In the late 1850s, a meetinghouse was erected north- west of Lewisburg and was commonly known as the Kelly meetinghouse. This building was dismantled in 1904 and was removed to White Springs, about two miles from the site of the present Buffalo Church house. Services were conducted at White Springs until 1920. The entire cost in 1904 for dismantling, moving and rebuilding the Kelly house was $450.
In 1861, the Hartley meetinghouse was erected near Laurelton, about eighteen miles west of Lewisburg. This church house was used for meetings during the Civil War. The peace principles of the congregation proved unpopular and the interest in the work declined. The Hartley house was put up for sale in 1926 and the proceeds were used to repair the Pike meetinghouse.
The Pike meetinghouse was erected in 1864 about one and a half miles to the west of Mifflinburg. It was erected beside a road which was known as the Erie Pike. When the rebuilt Kelly House at White Springs was sold, the Brethren met in the Pike house, the present Buffalo Church. An advertisement for an evangelistic meeting in 1939 described the church as "The Church of the Brethren West of Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania".
When the Brethren began to meet regularly in the Pike meetinghouse, they designed the interior like many churches of the era. There were elevated seats to the north end of the building for the worshipers.
The Buffalo congregation was inspired for some years by the ministry of a blind and deaf poet, Greene Shively. He was elected to the ministry in 1894 and served as the minister and elder-in-charge of the congregation until 1942. Between 1939 and 1953, Greene Shively edited a quarterly church paper called Then and Now. The purpose of this paper was "to keep in touch with the Brethren, Sisters and Friends of the Old Buffalo Church of the Brethren, with a friendly greeting and information concerning the church and its work". The paper carried pictures, poems and articles of historical interest to the membership of the Buffalo congregation.
When Greene Shively could no longer care for the spiritual needs of the church, the membership called upon Mervyn Mensch to assume the preaching ministry (1942-1955). He had served the congregation as treasurer (1921-1928) and as the Sunday School superintendent (1917- 1921). He also had preached for the church on many occasions in the period from 1920 to 1929.
In 1949-1950, the congregation undertook an extensive renovation program. The sanctuary was altered and an addition provided for Sunday School rooms. A chancel was formed in the sanctuary, a kitchen was constructed and a bell tower placed at the entrance. The interior of the church was redecorated and a new heating system was installed. Dr. A. C. Baugher, president of Elizabethtown College, was guest of the church on June 4, 1950 as it celebrated its improvements.
Mervyn W. Mensch donated the use of twenty-two acres of land from his farm for use by the congregation in raising crops. Proceeds from these crops were used to liquidate the church indebtedness. In 1950-1951, the Men's Work Organization planted corn as a cash crop. In 1952 and 1953, a wheat crop and a hay crop provided funds to reduce
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the indebtedness. In 1957, the church observed a Rural Life Sunday by a service of dedication for seeds and soil.
The Buffalo congregation continued to grow under the leadership of its pastor. Many sermons prepared by Bro. Mensch appeared in the Union County Standard newspaper. Bro. Mensch began to suggest to the church that the time had come for full-time pastoral leadership. In the fall of 1955, the Buffalo congregation called its first full-time pastor, Kenneth L. Franklin. The new pastor and his wife moved into a tempor- ary parsonage in Lewisburg in December. Shortly after this, the pastor moved into a rented home in Mifflinburg. This home was to remain the church parsonage for the next three years.
The Buffalo congregation began to cooperate with the local Mifflin- burg Ministerium in promoting union and cooperative religious and recrea- tional services. The various cooperating churches shared in Thanksgiving, Lenten, Easter and Week-of-Prayer programs. A cooperative Vacation Bible School was promoted and the youth of the congregations became involved in a softball league.
When the Church of the Brethren observed its 250th anniversary, the pastor and several lay people of the congregation participated in the anniversary in the Germantown Church (January 1, 1958). During the anniversary year, a stewardship campaign added twenty-six members to the Fellowship of Tithers. David Fleming was the local chairman for the Anniversary Call program.
In August, 1958, the membership cooperated in placing a new floor in the sanctuary. The trees and the equipment had been donated by members of the church. The men spent two thousand hours in cutting, hauling, preparing and laying the lumber for the new flooring. The success of this venture encouraged the church to plan for a new parsonage.
Kenneth L. Franklin resigned in December, 1958. When the pastor- ate remained vacant for some months, the church decided to employ Roger L. Forry as the summer pastor. For his use, the congregation set up a house trailer at White Springs. When the summer months drew to a close, the membership approached Bro. Forry and asked him to continue as the full-time pastor. Bro. Forry approached the District Commission on Ministry and Evangelism and arrangements were made for him to complete his seminary work at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. On August 23, 1959, he was elected the second full-time pastor of the Buffalo Church. The District Commission on Ministry advanced him to the full ministry.
The congregation immediately prepared to erect its new parsonage. Ground was broken to the west of the Buffalo Church and construction was begun. Shortly after Easter, 1962 Roger L. Forry and his wife Janice moved into the new home provided by the church.
As the 100th anniversary of the church drew near, the congregation prepared to celebrate. A Centennial Committee was appointed to pre- pare for the 1964 observance. This committee consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Neil Boop, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Fleming, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Keister, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Richard, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Shively and Mr. and Mrs. Harry West. The Centennial services were conducted on July 24, 25, 26, 1964, with Dr. M. Guy West as the guest preacher at the Saturday evening service. The Palmyra Church of the Brethren pro- vided special music. A Community Night, with local guest ministers, was observed on Friday evening. Roger L. Forry, Kenneth L. Franklin and Kenneth N. Wagner spoke at the Sunday services. Copies of the booklet, Then and Now, were prepared for the Centennial.
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On May 19, 1968, Galen H. Brum- baugh, a recent graduate of Eastern Bap- tist Theological Seminary, was installed as pastor of the Buffalo congregation. Roger L. Forry resigned to accept the pastorate at Hanover. Bro. Brumbaugh led the church into a building program to care for its expanding Christian Education needs. In 1972, the congregation completed a new educational structure at a cost of $60,000. Services of dedication for the new educa- tional wing were held on October 15, 1972.
The Buffalo congregation has installed several men into the ministry since 1940. Paul A. Lemmon was advanced to the eldership in 1953 at a service conducted by Robert L. Cocklin and Earl S. Kipp. In 1959, Roger L. Forry was advanced to Galen H. Brumbaugh the full ministry. On December 16, 1962, George Jacob Shively was called to the ministry and was advanced to the full ministry on October 16, 1966.
The church has grown in its outreach program with the years and has become involved in district and brotherhood activities. In 1959, Dorothy Styers became the first from the congregation to enter Brethren Volunteer Service. On April 22, 1961, the Southern District Men's Fel- lowship Rally met at the church. The Southern District ministers met in the congregation on May 18, 1965 to hear Roy Johnson discuss his work in an integrated church. The congregation continues to be active in sup- porting district functions and brotherhood work.
THE CARLISLE CONGREGATION
The work of the Church of the Brethren in Carlisle was supervised by the Upper and Lower Cumberland congregations as early at 1907. Ministers from these congregations shared the preaching responsibilities for a number of years until the Carlisle Church was formed. The congre- gation was formally organized on January 5, 1914 with forty-six charter members.
The work at the Carlisle Church was entrusted to the supervision of the District Mission Board. A new church and Sunday School rooms were constructed at the corner of West and Walnut Streets in the Carlisle community. The building was dedicated on September 6, 1914, and was officially named "Carlisle First Church of the Brethren". Elder I. N. H. Beahm of Virginia was the guest at the dedication of a building which had cost $8,499.19.
Prior to 1940, the congregation was served by the non-salaried ministry from the Lower Dauphin and Upper Cumberland congregations. Ministers residing within the Carlisle area also shared in the ministry. The first pastor of the church was Samuel M. Stouffer of the Upper Cumberland congregation (1918-1919). Ministers who succeeded him were Trostle P. Dick (1921-1923), D. C. Miller (1925-1928), and Harper S. Snavely (1931-1945).
Harper S. Snavely was ordained at the Carlisle Church when he became the pastor. For the next fourteen years he ministered faithfully to the congregation, engaging in many district activities and maintaining
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a keen interest in the keeping of bees. During his pastorate, he served on the Children's Aid Society and on the District Mission Board.
When many young men were taken from the community during World War II, the pastor edited a paper called Carlisle Messenger to keep the young people informed about the church and its activities. He and Mrs. Snavely offered the hospitality of their home to all Brethren boys stationed at the Carlisle barracks. In 1944, the congregation adopted the new Ministerial Pension Plan for its pastor.
Russell Hunsberger Weber assumed the pastoral responsibilities at Carlisle when Harper S. Snavely resigned in 1945. Bro. Weber had served in 1944 as the co-pastor of the York Second Church. He had been installed into the full ministry on April 27, 1944 in a service conducted at the First Church of the Brethren in York. He assumed his pastoral duties at Carlisle on July 15, 1945. During part of his pastorate, the Carlisle Church choir assisted him in presenting a program of hymns from a Chambersburg radio station each Thursday. In 1947, Russell H. Weber transferred his church membership to the Winona Lake Brethren Conference. Francis P. Litton cared for the ministerial duties of the church for the next several years (1948-1950).
The church building has been remodeled a number of times. A baptistry was installed in 1937. The interior of the church was redecor- ated in 1947 and an organ installed. During the summer months, the congregation united with other churches in the community to conduct vesper services on the Dickinson College campus. In September, 1949, the church celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary. A Homecoming event on September 18 saw many former members and friends of the church returning to share in the service. Dr. C. C. Ellis, president-emeritus of Juniata College and Nevin H. Zuck, pastor of the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren, were guests for this event.
David J. Markey, a graduate of Bethany Biblical Seminary, began his pastoral duties on September 1, 1950. His father, David H. Markey, conducted the service of installation for the new pastor on September 10th. During World War II, the congregation began a fund to purchase a new organ. This dream was realized in 1951 when a new Baldwin organ was installed and new Brethren Hymnals were purchased. A special service of dedication was held on September 16, 1951, with Dr. Tobias F. Henry of Juniata College as the guest speaker and Nevin Fisher as the guest music director.
The Carlisle Church building was extensively remodeled in 1955 at a cost of $51,286.90. The pulpit was relocated to the west side of the church and new pews were placed over newly-carpeted floors. The seating capacity of the sanctuary was increased by remodeling former Sunday School rooms to the east end of the church building. Space was also provided for a pastor's study and a nursery. Services of rededication were held on October 22, 23, 1955, with Dr. Warren D. Bowman, presi- dent of Bridgewater College, as the guest speaker.
The Women's Fellowship of the congregation has been active in supporting the various interests of the church. During the period from October, 1954 to October, 1955, the group contributed $1,134 to the church building.fund. This sum was raised by such activities as quilting sales, baking, operating food stands at local sales, selling Christmas cards and small household items. The Women's Fellowship began in the church under the name of the Sister's Aid Society.
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The Carlisle Church
The Carlisle Church has gradually become involved in the total life of the Carlisle community. This town of 18,000 persons continues to retain much of the colonial atmosphere which is part of its rich heritage. In the autumn of 1954, the church participated in a National Teaching Mission sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council of Christian Education. In 1955, David J. Markey served as the president of the Carlisle Minister- ium. In the fall of 1957, the congregation hosted a regional meeting on behalf of Christian Education. Virginia S. Fisher, Tri-District Director of Christian Education, taught a series of college level classes in the church. The central location of the congregation in the district has encouraged its frequent use for District Conferences and for other district-related events.
Warren S. Kissinger became the church's pastor on May 1, 1957. Installation services were conducted for the pastor on May 12, 1957 by Harold Z. Bomberger. In 1958, the congregation voted to alter its form of local church government and adopted the commission form under a general Church Board. Seven commissions became responsible for the numerous activities and interests of the congregation. In 1964, the church reduced the number of commissions from seven to three under a new plan suggested by the Annual Conference.
The Carlisle Church joined in observing the denomination's anni- versary year. As part of its observance, the Carlisle Church granted Warren S. Kissinger a nine-week leave-of-absence so that he could attend the World Convocation of Brethren at Schwarzenau, Germany. He also spent some weeks working at an European work camp (1958).
The congregation has provided its share of leadership to the district and to brotherhood work. For many years, Elder J. E. Trimmer was involved in leadership at the district level as chairman of the Council of
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Boards. He had been a well-known merchant for fifty years in Carlisle and once operated a chain of twenty-three stores. He died on December 29, 1957 at the age of seventy-eight years. He was one who gave early leadership to the Carlisle congregation.
George W. Hull (1884-1961) was elected to the ministry in 1918 and was advanced to the eldership in 1935. He was active in the life of the congregation until his death on December 15, 1961. Clarence B. Sollenberger has also given dedicated service to the congregation and to the district. In 1958, Benjamin Sollenberger, his son, returned from a two-year tour of duty under Alternative Service in the Nigerian mission field. In 1936-1966, Benjamin Sollenberger and Nelda Weaver Sollenberger returned to Nigeria for another term of service as mission- aries (See Mission Enthusiasm).
On December 29, 1959, Mr. and Mrs. Ray L. Tritt left for Nigeria where they worked with the mission program in West Africa. The Tritts served there for three and a half years before returning to the states. Over the years the congregation has been active in the support of the mission program. It has supported such mission workers as Sara Myers, Velva Jane Dick, Mary and Alva Harsh and Wendell Flory. In addition, the congregation has aided European refugee families in resettlement in America. Several Remee families, Lee and Louis and Jansen of Holland, Kurt Voight family of Germany, Peter Patruch of Germany and Stephen Baronyi of Hungary have been aided by the church.
Since 1940 the Carlisle Church has called a number of young men to the Christian ministry. These include Israel G. Royer Jr. (January 31, 1949), John L. Peffer (February 22, 1959), M. George Van Asdalan (De- cember 30, 1962) and Edward Lee Poling (March 12, 1972).
When Warren Kissinger resigned as pastor, effective August 31, 1960, he assumed responsibilities as instructor of Biblical studies at Juniata College. Arthur M. Smith served the congregation on an interim basis in 1960 and 1961. A new pastor was found in the person of Kenneth L. Miller, a recent Bethany Biblical Seminary graduate. On June 18, 1961, he began his responsibilities at the church.
At one time the congregation developed plans to relocate the church house. In anticipation of this time, the membership purchased three acres of land in the Heatherland Development of suburban Carlisle. When the congregation revised its plans, these lots were sold in 1968. However, in 1961, in anticipation of a building program, the church voted to use the unified church budget. To assist the congregation in its stewardship campaign, the Wayne Carr Associates of North Manchester, Indiana, was employed in 1962. In this same year, the church in council took action to invite all Christians to participate in the Lovefeast and Communion service.
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