USA > Pennsylvania > Change and challenge: a history of the Church of the Brethren in the southern district of Pennsylvania, 1940-1972 > Part 26
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The Narthex area of the church was arranged to be spacious enough to care for overflow crowds and to provide occasion for visiting after the morning and evening church services. The etched glass between the Narthex and the sanctuary depicts scenes of importance in the life of the Brethren, including the foot-washing service, the baptismal event, missions and service, the Communion and the anointing services. The artist for these etchings was Mrs. Ruth Fitz Hartman.
Because of the unique nature of the sanctuary, the large Narthex, the etchings and the exterior design, the Codorus Church building was listed for many years as a church to be seen. A brochure was circulated among architectural firms to encourage them to visit the building. Large credit for the over-all design and planning must be given to the members of the Building Committee: Mahlon Groff Jr., Robert Godfrey, M. Emore Lehman, John Brandt and Delmas Myers.
Under the leadership of William L. Gould the church continued to show numerical and spiritual growth. Lenten services in cooperation with other community churches; evangelistic endeavors; radio ministries; con- tinuing outreach programs and Bible Institutes aided the congregation's growth. The pastor introduced a more formal order of service for worship to the congregation. A busy schedule of visitation and counseling and the organization of the congregation to undertake .the building program, required a tremendous investment of time and energy for the pastor.
The Codorus Church of the Brethren was highlighted in a brief tele- cast over Channel 43 in York on May 1, 1967. The program compared the old and the new buildings and the extensive volunteer work in erect- ing the splendid new church edifice. The pastor was shown baptizing a candidate for church membership in this program.
Jimmy R. Ross became the pastor of the congregation on September 1, 1970. A native of Virginia, he served a pastorate in Maryland and then decided to complete his seminary training at Bethany Theolog- ical Seminary. At his graduation from the seminary, he became the third pastor of the Codorus Church. While he served in his Maryland pastorate, Jimmy R. Ross produced a radio program for the Brethren over radio station WJEJ, Hagerstown, Maryland. His interest in the radio min- istry has been continued at the Codorus congregation.
Celebrative acts of worship were intro- duced into the services. The congrega- tion also became concerned about civic matters, organizing letter-writing sessions to object to road conditions in the area and
Jimmy R. Ross
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to raise concerns about the continuation of the Vietnam War. The youth of the church joined in the Walk For Crop event in 1971 and in 1972. The Church Board spent a week-end at Camp Eder for a planning retreat in 1971. As a result of this retreat, the Christian Education Commission in 1972 introduced optional courses during the Sunday School period for youth and for adults.
The Codorus Church has been served by the following moderators since 1940: Samuel C. Godfrey ( -1954), George H. Keeny (1955), Martin M. Hartman (1956-1958), M. Guy West (1959-1961 and Elmer Q. Gleim (1962- ). The congregation in recent years has licensed Daniel M. Lehman, Merrin Junior Godfrey and Tommy Lee Ness to the ministry. The church is also preparing a history of its own congregational life. William L. Gould, former pastor and member of the District History Committee, is editing the new work. Dr. Ralph W. Schlosser, who visited the church for many Bible Institutes, will write the Forward for the new book.
THE DRY RUN CONGREGATION
In 1954 the Church of the Brethren renewed its interest in the upper Path Valley of Franklin County. Jacob L. Miller investigated for the District Mission Board possible new sites for church extension. The Brethren decided to enter a valley where earlier Brethren had worked as circuit preachers. Edmund D. Book came out of Perry County to preach in the Amberson Valley at the turn of the present century.
Mission work was begun in Fannett Township of upper Franklin County in the autumn of 1954. The District Mission Board and several district congregations provided funds for the work. Allen H. Herr, of Defiance, Ohio and a minister of the Upper Conewago congregation, began an early ministry to this community. Services were conducted regularly in the former Dry Run Academy and community hall. In 1955, the District Mission Board provided a bus to transport people to and from the Sunday School and Church services. Harry Mummert, of Hanover, taught the Sunday School lesson in these early years of the work. The mission work showed early promises of growth. In 1955, forty-six additions were made to the church.
The District Ministerial Board met with the Dry Run congregation on July 29, 1956 to organize a permanent administration. The name "Dry Run Church" was officially adopted. Samuel A. Meyers became the pre- siding elder of the new congregation and Allen H. Herr continued as the minister. John Mowery was licensed to the ministry at the same time and was assigned responsibilities as the assistant pastor. The Ministerial Board voted to recommend recognition for the new congregation and the seating of its delegates at the District Conference.
In 1957, district support came to an end and Allen H. Herr resigned his pastoral duties. The congregation was then supplied with ministers from various district churches. On January 18, 1959, Joseph M. Baugher and Samuel A. Meyers publicly ordained John Mowery to the full ministry. He continued to provide for the visitation of the congregation and assisted in some preaching responsibilities. Samuel A. Meyers, John Mowery, Donald E. Miller and Ralph Schildt shared preaching assignments.
When the work grew slowly, several surveys were made to determine the opportunities for growth. The Dry Run congregation had eighty members scattered among an area which contained seventeen church buildings. In 1961, the District Men's Work Organization made a survey of 149 homes in the area and found only nine families interested in con- tinuing a ministry at the church. The District Commission on Missions
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and Church Extension renewed its support of the work. From October 4-11, 1962, James V. D'Amico conducted successful evangelistic meetings in the Dry Run congregation.
The Dry Run Church
In 1964, the congregation purchased the building in which its meetings were conducted. Jacob L. Miller (1964-1965) and Richard Grim began to serve at interim-pastors. These brethren continued their services until Percy R. Kegarise assumed the responsibilities in September, 1965.
The Commission on Missions and Church Extension continually eval- uated its work at various mission points in the district. On June 18, 1967, a team of four persons surveyed the Dry Run community and the Doyles- burg-Concord areas. They found no one in the village of Dry Run who belonged to the Church of the Brethren. There were four church build- ings (two of them new) in the community to serve the religious interests of the residents. The surveyors also found many of the recent additions In to the Dry Run congregation came from Pentecostal backgrounds.
its thirteen years of existence, the Dry Run Church had not become deep- rooted in the life of the community. Further study disclosed that the population of the entire community had been declining since 1940. On the basis of this report, the District Conference decided to eliminate financial support for the program (1967).
Percy R. Kegarise continued to serve the congregation in the non- salaried ministry until March, 1972. When he became pastor of the Three Springs Church, he continued to preside as moderator over the Dry Run Church. Currently the congregation is served by supply ministers.
THE FALLING SPRING CONGREGATION
Members of the Church of the Brethren moved into the valley of the Conococheague in Franklin County beginning in the 1750s. The tendency of these German settlers to migrate in groups encouraged them to develop early church groups. The soil of the rich valley made them farmers.
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The tendency to associate with a church helped them to identify with a community much as the town meeting helped the New Englander to create communities.
As settlers found eligible places in the Pennsylvania valleys, their church groups began to assume names of their geographical associations. Many early religious settlements in Pennsylvania took the name of Silver Spring, Big Spring, Middle Spring, and Falling Spring. The name "Falling Spring" was given to the place of his settlement in 1730 by Benjamin Chambers. The settlement was made at the point where the large spring falls into the Conococheague stream close to Chambersburg. When the community of Chambersburg was laid out in 1764, members of the Antie- tam congregation took up lands in the vicinity of Chambersburg. The German farmers marketed their produce in the new community.
Members of the Antietam congregation shared a union church with other groups of the area. This union church, located near Mont Alto, was known as the Mount Zion church. It was shared by members of the Snow Hill Seventh Day Baptists, who arrived in Franklin County in 1764; by members of the Old Older Brethren who separated from the Church of the Brethren in 1881-1882; and by the Church of the Brethren. The Mount Zion Church house was used by the Falling Spring congregation until 1960.
The Brown's Mill church, located three miles north of Greencastle, in Kauffman's Station, was once known as the Antrim meeting house. This brick church was built in 1855, and had been used by the congregation for regular preaching appointments until 1960. There is an adjoining cemetery.
A large stone church was built in 1855 along the Falling Spring road near Chambersburg. Another stone church house was erected three miles north of the village of Shady Grove on land sold to the congregation by Emmanuel Hade in 1869. The Falling Spring congregation became an independent organization on September 19, 1866. In 1877, a brick church was erected in Shady Grove and was used as a preaching center for the church until the early 1960s. The house which is currently used by the congregation is the Hade meeting house.
The Hade House
Members of the Church of the Brethren and the Old Order Brethren continued to share the four meeting houses of the congregation from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, an agreement was made that the two groups should have separate houses in which to conduct their meetings. The two
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groups dealt with each other very amicably over the decades. However, a consensus began to form that the Church of the Brethren should centralize to one church house instead of scattering its meetings among four houses. By negotiations, the decision was made to grant the two religious groups two houses each. The Falling Spring congregation re- ceived the Shady Grove and the Hade house. The Old Order Brethren (German Baptists) received the Brown's Mill and the Falling Spring houses. When this transaction was completed, the Falling Spring con- gregation decided to renovate the Hade house and to sell the Shady Grove house. The Shady Grove house was sold to the Grove Manufacturing Company.
On August 13, 1960, a building committee was chosen to plan and oversee the work of renovating and building an addition to the Hade house. More space was needed for worship services. This building committee consisted of S. Omar Nicarry, B. Franklin Wagaman, James Laughlin, Albert Zeger and Wilbur Kline.
The Hade house was renovated by placing an addition to the north side. Five Sunday School rooms, lavatories and a vestibule were added. The main auditorium was rearranged and the pulpit was moved to the south end of the building. New flooring, carpeting and new pews were added. Dedication services for these improvements and renovations were held on July 7, 1963 with Harold S. Martin, of the Pleasant Hill congrega- tion, delivering the dedicatory message.
The congregation has been served by the non-salaried ministry since its begin- nings. The presiding elder of the congre- gation conducts the business of the church, presides over the official board, and ar- ranges for the preaching schedule for the membership. Since 1940; the church has had only two presiding elders: Welty G. Smith (1936-1942) 'and C. Lowell Gear- hart (1943- ). There was a brief pe- riod in which the District Ministerial Board acted as the presiding elder for the congre- gation (1942-1943).
Ministers who have served the church since 1940 are. Welty G. Smith, C. Lowell Gearhart, S. Omar Nicarry, James Strite, B. Franklin Wagaman and Dean E. Gear- C. Lowell Gearhart hart. S. Omar Nicarry was ordained in 1943. Wayne Nicarry was licensed in the congregation in 1944. Dean Gearhart, called to the ministry in 1965, was ordained in 1969 by the Falling Spring congregation. Bro. James Strite, who was elected to the ministry in the Welty congregation in 1966, moved to the Falling Springs congregation. He was relicensed each year until, in August 1972, he was ordained to the ministry at Falling Spring.
The church has sponsored Bible Conferences from time to time. On August 11 to 13, 1944, J. Monroe Danner, I. N. H. Beahm and Quincy Lecrone were guest speakers at a Bible Conference in the Hade house. The church also meets for Harvest Thanksgiving days twice each year. The congregation conducts a regular evangelistic emphasis.
Lovefeats and Communions are observed twice each year. The con- gregation meets in the spring and the fall for two-day observances in the
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Ministers of Falling Spring
Dean E. Gearhart
S. Omar Nicarry
James C. Strite
B. Franklin Wagaman
traditional fashion of earlier decades. The lovefeast is prepared by the deacons of the congregation in cooperation with the ministers. Since 1940, the following brethren have served as deacons for the church: Harry Stamy (deceased), Walter Shank (deceased), Harry Spangler (deceased), David Thompson (deceased), Harvey Senger (deceased), James Laughlin, Albert Zeger, Daniel Myers, Aaron Hartman, John Kell (deceased), Jesse Beeler (deceased), Jacob Bonebrake (deceased), John Brubaker, S. C. Plum (deceased), Guy Stamy, Jacob Statler (deceased), Paul Wilderson (deceased), Edgar Wolfkill (deceased), Clyde Shipp (deceased), Wilbur Kline, Donald Clapper, Kenneth Wildison, Clarence Witmer and Owen Sipe. The Christian Education program has centered in the Sunday Schools conducted in the various meeting houses. At the Shady Grove house, Daniel Myers, Edgar Wolfkill, and Dean Gearhart have served as superin- tendents. At the Brown's Mill meeting house, John Brubaker, John E. Stouffer, Jay Knepper, and Clarence Witmer have been in charge of the Sunday School work. At the Hade house, Robert Stenger, Clarence Witmer, and George Martin have served as superintendents.
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THE FARMERS' GROVE CONGREGATION
The Farmers' Grove Church was erected in 1873 on land donated by Christian Myers. The Rev. Christian Myers (1833-1901) owned the farm along route 75 two miles north of Honey Grove, Pennsylvania. Brethren of the Tuscarora Valley met here for worship in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Early members of the congregation included Samuel and Barbara Geedey, Enoch and Catharine Pannebaker, Christian and Catharine Myers, Abraham and Mary Rohrer and the Rev. Isaac and Mary Book. These founders of the church lie at rest in the adjoining cemetery.
These early members entered the Tuscarora Valley from Cumberland, Franklin and Juniata Counties. They took up land in the slate and lime- stone valley where the Indian tribes hunted and where early traders met on their ways westward. A rounded mount on one of the farms of the upper valley contains the remains of some of these Indians.
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The Farmers' Grove Church
The church is located next to land where Fort Bingham stood. This fort was erected on a farm opposite the church on the north side of route 75. This fort was attacked at least twice by the Indians, the first time slaying everyone within the fort or taking them captive. The farm where the fort stood continues to be a favorite site for hunting Indian artifacts.
The architecture of the Farmers' Grove meetinghouse is typical of the nineteenth century. Worshipers continue to sit on two levels. Those who sit on the east and west sides of the rectangular frame building wor- ship from elevated seats. Those who sit in the straight-backed pews on the central floor face a long preaching desk and dais large enough to accommo- date four ministers. Entrance is made to the church through two separate doors placed on the south side of the building.
Elder Edmund D. Book, a resident of Perry County, presided over many annual meetings conducted at the Farmers' Grove house in the 1890s and early 1900s. A census of the Perry and the Farmers' Grove Church memberships showed eighty-two members in 1898. Farmers' Grove remained a part of the Perry congregation until 1944. After the Perry congregation separated from Farmers' Grove, the Tuscarora Valley church remained closed for a period of time.
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The official Minutes of the congregation show increasing insights into the life of the church and the community:
At a Lovefeast service in 1894, an offering was lifted to relieve the financial distress of a member who was poor and in failing health.
On April 21, 1894, the church council agreed to build a feed trough for horses on the church grounds.
Each year the council met in the spring and agreed on a date for the Lovefeast and Communion service. These were two services conducted by resident ministers and visiting Brethren. A note for 1895 said:
"Lovefeast was held as arranged for by the grace of the Lord and was much to the edification of the membership. Sermons were preached by the Brethren Wakefield, Solomon, Leiber and Solomon Kauffman. Isaac Book and Eby were present and assisted." This note from April 4, 1896 reads:
"The matter of holding a certificate from another arm and not handing it in was taken up and discussed. A resolution was offered requesting the deacons to invite all such persons holding certificates to hand them in promptly. It was seconded and remarks were made by Elder Edmund Book advocating such a course."
The annual council of April 22, 1905 discussed a possible change of name for the meetinghouse. It was decided to retain the old name "Farmers' Grove Church".
An interesting comment appeared under the date of March 18, 1911:
"It was decided to take up a quarterly collection for Home Mission work. After which Bro. Beelman gave us a good talk along the plain- ness of dress and encouraged us to be more plain in the future."
At the council of 1897, "Sister Abbie (Geedey) Hassinger suggested the matter of having Sunday School at the church. Upon motion a vote was taken and it was endorsed and next Sunday was fixed as the day to organize". The organization of the Sunday School was chiefly for the summer months only. On March 30, 1901, the council voted "to have a Sunday School during the summer of 1901 at the church".
Another note appeared: "Sister Annie Gibbons was elected to receive the 10ยข tax of each member for the benefit of the Old Folk Home. (March 28, 1914).
The Active Ever Ready Class of the Sunday School was organized on February 4, 1915. This class met regularly, collected dues at the rate of five cents per month and fined individuals for absences from regular meetings. The fines and the dues were used for projects in the church or in missions. The class introduced a mission box (1915), initiated a Teacher Training Class (1916) and contributed to relief and mission projects on a regular basis. A note under December 3, 1919 stated:
"We voted in favor of a Christmas Exchange box in the next meeting. The gifts were not to exceed $.50 and were to be suitable for either boys or girls."
The Ever Ready Class also purchased a library in February, 1917. The record book states: "the purpose of this library is to give to the public the free use of the books which it contains in order to maintain a higher standard of reading matter." The listed books included these titles: Shepherd of the Hills, The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, Girl of the Limberlost and Tillie, a Mennonite Maid.
In 1909, the District Mission Board officially assumed the care of the congregation. The Mission Board arranged for visting ministers and members of the Mission Board conducted the church councils. On many occasions C. R. Oeillig and S. C. Godfrey officiated at these meetings. The congregation was fortunate to have such active members as Annie Gibbons, Daniel and Abbie Hassinger, Otho Hassinger and Rev. and Mrs. Charles
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H. Steerman. A Rev. Zimmerman spent some time in service to the congregation earlier in the century. The Steermans transferred their church certificates from the Lost Creek congregation to Farmers' Grove on April 14, 1917. Under their leadership and evangelistic fervour, the congregation showed growth. The Hassinger family lived on a farm very close to the church house.
In the course of the decades, many district ministers provided the ministry to the Farmers' Grove Church. Robert L. Cocklin, Cletus Myers and Robert L. Ditmer provided the ministry to the church during the 1940s and the 1950s. Robert Ditmer apparently was responsible for the re-opening of the Farmers' Grove Church in the 1940s. The congrega- tion joined with the Tuscarora congregation in a yoked pastoral program (1944). Rev. Ditmer earned his livelihood by operating a shoe store and shoe repair in Port Royal, Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Alice Shearer recalls this incident from the life of the congre- gation:
"Around the middle of the 1950s, Rev. Ditmer after Sunday School walked back into the congregation one Sunday and handed his Teacher's Quarterly to Mr. Jay Sollenberger. He called him 'son Timothy' and charged with with the responsibility of teaching the Brethren. Mr. Sollenberger has faithfully carried out this responsi- bility."
When Rev. Ditmer passed from this life in 1962, the congregation was placed under the care of John W. Sellers, who conducted services twice each month at the Farmers' Grove house.
The Farmers' Grove Church is currently recognized as a fellowship with nineteen active church members and twenty-five Sunday School members. Clayton Book is the oldest member of the church at 87 years of age (1972). He is the grandson of Edmund D. Book. The church trustees of the congregation are William E. Shearer Sr., chairman, Clayton Book and Jay Sollenberger. O. Wayne Cook is the moderator of the congrega- tion (1972) and presides over its regular council meetings. The work of the church is under the direction of the District Witness Commission. As this article is written, arrangements are being made to provide a new ministry for the church.
THE GREENCASTLE CONGREGATION
The Greencastle Church of the Brethren was organized at the request of Back Creek and Falling Springs members who were residing in the Greencastle area. The request was granted on February 11, 1928. On March 4, 1928, the first service for the new temporary congregation was conducted in the local Methodist Church building at which time W. Grant Group preached to a large congregation. Arrangements were made with the Methodist Church to rent their facilities for Sunday evening services.
In March, 1940 the Methodist Church decided to sell their church building to the Church of the Brethren, giving full use to the Brethren after twelve years. At the Southern District Conference of October 22, 23, 1930 in the Upton meetinghouse, permission was granted to the Green- castle group to organize into a new congregation. Up until this time, pulpit supplies were cared for by the District Ministerial Board. On December 19, 1930, a new congregation was instituted with sixty-nine charter members.1
The community of Greencastle is located in Antrim Township in the southeastern section of Franklin County. It lies in the heart of fertile limestone farm lands where once the Indians came to bury their dead. An
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old Indian burying-ground has been discovered here. It was also into this area that descendants of the original church founders came to reside. The community is located on the east branch of the Conococheague Creek.
The first pastor of the Greencastle congregation was Jesse W. Whitacre who began his ministry on January 25, 1931. The new pastors who succeeded him were S. S. Blough (1934-1937), J. I. Thomas (1937-1941), C. E. Grapes (1941-1947), Ross D. Murphy (1947-1953), Samuel Lindsay (1953-1963), Wayne Nicarry (1963-1964), Theodore E. Whitacre (1964- 1966), William Cave (1966-1967), George L. Detweiler (1967-1971) and J. Richard Gottshall (1971- ). Under the leadership of these pastors the church increased from its original sixty-nine charter members to a present membership of 325 (1972).
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