Called into ministry
Just a short distance after turning onto Little Piney Creek Road the two sisters gazed eagerly out of the car window. Were they on the right road? Would the church building still be standing?
The two daughters of Isaac and Maybelle Kanode—Pauline (Kanode Allison Peifer) and Beth (Kanode Sider)—were on a road trip in Blair County, Pennsylvania, to locate the first church their father served as pastor in an area commonly known as Morrison’s Cove.
Isaac and Maybelle’s life together as newlyweds began in 1941 in the town of Martinsburg. Isaac, a licensed Brethren in Christ minister, with his young wife Maybelle, had a growing desire to see the ministry of their church expand. The Martinsburg and Woodbury churches were established congregations in the Morrison’s Cove district. Isaac was listed on the district preaching rotation, but a desire was growing inside him to reach people who did not attend church. While church planting was not a topic of discussion at that time, Isaac and Maybelle believed God was calling them and they were ready and willing to answer that call.
The sisters were not disappointed in the search for their parents’ church. As they crept along the narrow road, a small red building came into view nestled up against the mountain a few hundred yards from meandering Piney Creek. The name on a plaque beside the door confirmed they had found the right place. It simply read Eight Square Chapel. Just as the name implied, the oddly-shaped building had eight sides. A small cupola rose in the center of the roof, and there was a simple white front door with a small window in the center shaped like a cross. It left no doubt. The daughters had found the church where their parents began their ministry.
Eight Square Chapel had its origin as a one-room school with the deed dating to 1834 designated for the education of children in the communities of Royer and Clappertown. For more than one hundred years, children walked to this school for their primary education.
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