Events
Annual Heritage Service, June 1, 2025; Annual Meeting, October 4, 2025
Heritage Service, June 1, 2025, at 3:00 p.m, Ringgold Meetinghouse, 14426 Misty Meadow Rd., Smithburg, MD 21783. This year, 2025, marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. The Brethren in Christ Church emerged out of the Anabaptist movement more than 250 years later. Joshua Nolt, senior pastor of the Lancaster (PA) Brethren in Christ Church and the Historical Society’s new executive director, will share about the Anabaptist practice of a community hermeneutic (method for studying and interpreting the Bible).
Annual Meeting, October 4, 2025, 12:00 p.m., Grantham Brethren in Christ Church, 421 Grantham Rd., Mechanicsburg, PA 17055. This year’s Annual Meeting is happening during Homecoming Weekend at Messiah University. This is appropriate as we will be celebrating the release of Devin Manzullo-Thomas’s new biography of E. Morris and Leone Sider. Morris spent his professional career at Messiah and served as the university and denominational archivist for many years. A catered meal will be provided at the Grantham Church, including the tradition of homemade pies for dessert. The program will honor Morris’s life as a storyteller (see page 2 for more information). Copies of the biography will be available. Following the meeting, all are invited to the open house being held during Messiah University’s Homecoming at the Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives. Watch for more information about how to register for the annual meeting in the Summer 2025 edition of this newsletter or on our website.
2023 Annual Meeting Celebrated Seventy Years of the Brethren in Christ in Japan
The 2023 Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the Grantham Brethren in Christ Church. The focus of the meeting was on the Brethren in Christ Church in Japan which celebrates its seventieth anniversary this year. Former missionaries to Japan Dan Deyhle, Ray Hock, and Ruth Zook participated in a panel discussion about their time in Japan. We also heard greetings by audio from the church in Japan. In addition, John Yeatts, Historical Society president, presented his annual report.
2023 Heritage Service Featured our Old Order and United Zion Brothers and Sisters
The Annual Heritage Service was held on Sunday, June 4, 2023, at the Ringgold Meeting House. It was a joint service with the Old Order River Brethren, the United Zion Church, and the Brethren in Christ Church U.S. These churches are the three related groups in the United States that grew out of the original formation of the River Brethren in south central Pennsylvania in the late 1700s. Each group led the worshippers in song, and a representative from each group described three deeply held values or beliefs and one desire for their ongoing ministry as a church family.
The Old Order River Brethren presenter was Chris Brode. He spoke led a song in the Old Order style. Representing the United Zion was Rev. Ethan Levengood, songleader, and Rev. John Leisey spoke. Dr. John Yeatts spoke for the Brethren in Christ U.S. and David Perry led the singing.
You can watch the entire service here.
2021 Annual Meeting
About 100 people attended the 2021 annual dinner and meeting Saturday, October 2, 2021 at the Grantham Brethren in Christ Church, where E. Morris Sider’s new book was released.
With the intriguing title of Brown Sugar Sandwiches and Other Stories, the book features Sider’s memories from his life. During the program, Society president Ken Hoke moderated a panel of Society members who asked Sider questions about his book, giving him an opportunity to share “behind the scenes” about his writing process and some stories he chose not to include in the book.
All members of the Society will receive a free copy of the book, and additional copies are available for sale for $10 each plus postage. Email the Society for a copy.
If you missed the meeting, you can listen to the audio.
Annual Heritage Service, June 6, 2021
Two congregations tell stories of how they responded during the COVID-19 pandemic by serving others in their communities. Watch the video.