CHANGE AND CHALLENGE - York First Church of the Brethren An excerpt from the book, "CHANGE AND CHALLENGE" A HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN in THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA 1940 - 1972 Elmer Q. Gleim

THE YORK FIRST CONGREGATION (pages 290 - 296)

Reprinted with the permission of Elmer Q. Gleim and Southern District of PA
District Associate Executive, Georgia Markey - February 18, 2003

1972 Southern District Conference History Committee
                                Norman Reber, Chairman
                                Elmer Q. Gleim, Editor
                                Paul S. Burkholder
                                William L. Gould
                                Harold S. Martin
                                J. Stanley Earhart, District Executive

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The First Church of the Brethren has shown unusual growth and has provided exceptional leadership for both the district and the brotherhood. It has been a numerically large congregation. In 1935-1936, a special study committee of the congregation recommended a division to reduce its size. At the time the congregation had 946 members and was the largest in the denomination.

During a difficult period of its church life, the First Church employed S. S. Blough, the former pastor of the Greencastle congregation, to provide pastoral leadership. On the recommendation of a committee chaired by John F. Sprenkel Jr., the congregation employed S. S. Blough on May 15, 1936. Bro. Blough had been called to the ministry in the Western District of Pennsylvania at the Walnut Grove congregation. He served the First Church until August 31, 1940.

S. S. Blough was the first of a distinguished list of pastors who have served the church He was a teacher and a writer. In 1919, when the General Sunday School Board of the brotherhood published a book on doctrinal materials under the title, Studies in Doctrine and Devotion, Bro. Blough joined with C. C. Ellis and D. W. Kurtz in writing the volume. This work had ten printings.

At the church council of July 19, 1940, the membership voted to call Edward K. Ziegler to become pastor. He had recently returned from the India mission field and had been approached concerning the pastorate while he was in attendance at the Annual Conference (1940). Like his predecessor, he was interested in writing and in teaching. He produced a series of books centering on rural life and worship. These books include such titles as A Book of Worship For Village Churches (1939), Country Altars (1942), Rural People At Worship (1943) and Worship in the Christian Home (1943). He also contributed frequently to The Gospel Messenger.

During his pastorate, Bro. Ziegler involved the congregation in a number of changes. The First Church, like many other congregations of the district, was in the early stages of changing to the pastoral ministry. Edward K, Ziegler expressed in a letter the fear which some ministers had within the congregation that acquiring a pastor would "put them on the shelf". He used the ministers of the congregations for many services, including preaching, worship leadership, visitation and teaching, he also introduced the church to noted brotherhood leaders and began the practice of dedicating children at special services at Christmas time (1941). He brought the church to the community by entering into a radio ministry over radio station W S B A.

As the congregation continued to grow, the membership acquired a parsonage next to the church house on West King Street. More than 300 hours of volunteer labor enabled the new parsonage to be remodeled in 1943. The church dedicated a new organ on July 30, 1944. Doreen Crist was then the organist for the church. The First Church remodeled the building to provide Sunday School space for a nursery, the junior and the intermediate departments (1944-45). The Gleaners' Class of the Sunday School raised $1000 early in 1945 to contribute to Brethren Service.

The interest which Edward K. Ziegler had in teaching caused him to resign his pastorate. Even as pastor of the congregation he had engaged in teaching at the York Junior College (1943) and was a guest lecturer at a school of missions in Swannonoa, North Carolina (1944). In March, 1945, he met with the trustees of Manchester College and accepted teaching responsibilities with this mid-west institution. His resignation at the First Church became effective on August 31, 1945.

Bernard N. King became the new pastor to the congregation on September 5, 1945. G. Howard Danner represented the district Ministerial Committee at the installation services on September 9th. Bro. King had recently received a graduate degree from the Boston Divinity School.

In the period from 1945 until 1952, more changes came into the life of the church. Very gradually the adult choir became a part of each Sunday's worship experience. The interior of the church house was remodeled and a colonial style, divided chancel was installed. The basement of the church was modernized and fellowship rooms, Sunday School rooms and a kitchen were added. The council voted to add a Connsonata organ for the services of dedication. An organ committee of the church visited the Conn factory at Elkhart, Indiana to select the organ. The company installed the organ and provided a professional organist for the day of dedication. Rufus D. Bowman came from Chicago, Illinois on September 6-7, 1947 to aid the congregation in dedicating its remodeled building.

It was during the pastorate of Bro. King that the minister assumed full charge of the worship services. In prior years, as had been the custom of many congregations, the presiding elder of the congregation moderated each session of worship, frequently inviting ministers of the church to assist him with the conduct of the worship.

Bernard N. King began the practice of meeting in adult discussion groups and in fellowship occasions on Sunday evenings. At many of these meetings The Gospel Messenger articles were used as a basis for discussion (1949).

The Women's Work organization has been active in the life of the church. One of the memorable occasions was an International Evening at which the women of the congregation hosted representatives of many nations living in the York area. These representatives came from Korea, Japan, France, Norway, Sweden and North Africa (1947). During the post-war years, the church became involved in supporting refugee- and displaced-families. In 1950, a displaced family was brought to York by the church.

Bernard N. King was succeeded in the pastorate by M. Guy West, a former Uniontown, Pennsylvania, pastor. A reception for him and his family was held on September 2, 1952 and the service of installation was conducted on September 7, 1952. The next sixteen years of Dr. West's pastorate were to witness many changes for the congregation (1952-1968).

The First Church continued its outreach ministry by bringing more refugee families to America. In 1953-1954, Uta Marches, an exchange student from Germany, remained with a family of the congregation. In 1955, three church families signed sponsorship papers for a refugee family. The stewardship of the congregation continued to grow with its outreach ministry.

The congregation in 1953 entered a new phase of stewardship education as 115 children and adults were enrolled in the Fellowship of Tithers. The congregation has frequently been recognized for its superior giving to outreach ministries. In 1953, the Sunday School contributed $1,000 as a share for a new jeep for the India mission field. The annual school of missions, conducted at the beginning of each calendar year, sustained a keen interest for mission support. In 1957, the church moved into the unified budget system of stewardship.

The Gospel Messenger (1957) featured M. Guy West on two illustrated pages. He was shown in his roles as pastor to the church and to the community. The pictures showed him as the counselor, the minister, the administrator, the businessman and the family man. The article said nothing of the additional roles he assumed as guest lecturer and speaker, his relations to the college and his role in ecumenical endeavors.

The First Church met on February 10-11, 1962 to honor their pastor on the occasion of his fortieth year in the Christian ministry. George L. Detweiler spoke at one of these services on "The Ordination Glow". M. Guy West had been installed into the ministry on February 4, 1922 at the Nokesville Church of the Brethren in Virginia. He was also serving his tenth year as pastor of the First Church.

In 1958, in celebration of the denomination's 250th anniversary, the congregation sent their pastor and Naomi West to Germany. J. Vernon Grim, Kathryn Grim, Hattie Slagle and Mary Hershey Glatfelter also attended the World Convocation of Brethren at Schwarzenau. The year was notable for the congregation as the time in which it employed Guy E. Wampler (1958-1959) as an intern pastor to assist Dr. West with the work of the church. The youth of the First Church presented a drama entitled, "In Our Own Strength" as part of the 250th anniversary observance. This dramatic group journeyed to Waynesboro to share the presentation with the Waynesboro congregation.

The church appointed a long-range planning committee to study the possibilities for expanding, rebuilding or relocating the church building (January 9, 1958). On February 19, 1959, the church council voted to relocate on Loucks Road in northwest York. However, city and county zoning rules caused the planning committee to reconsider and to recommend a site in the Haines Acres in East York. The council voted to make this change on April 12, 1964.

The years 1963 and 1964 were tension-filled times in the nation's life. During this period the First Church reaffirmed its 1922 decision to accept peoples of all races and nationalities into its fellowship. One of the stated purposes of the First Church constitution reads: the church exists "to lead all persons into a vital relationship with God as expressed in the life and spirit of Christ and to help them find fulfillment in and relationship with their fellowmen". In May, 1964, Rosa Page Welch visited the church to sing in the interests of Brethren Service work. She had spent two years in Brethren Volunteer Service work in Africa and toured the United States for the Brethren Service Commission. Rosa Page Welch is a member of the Disciples of Christ Church.

In 1963 the congregation employed Lois I. Michael as a Christian Education director. A recent graduate of Bethany Biblical Seminary with a degree in Religious Education, she had been employed in 1957 in a ministry to migrants at Hamilton, New York.

When the decision to relocate was made, several hundred members decided not to follow the church to East York. These people formed themselves into the Belvidere congregation and the West York congregation (See under congregations).

The First Church broke ground at the Haines Acres tract on April 17, 1965 for their new facilities. By July 31, 1966, a beautiful and expansive new church structure was completed and was ready for use in the East End of the city. The building consisted of a new sanctuary, a large educational unit, fellowship facilities, a chapel and a parsonage. It was described as "likely the most expensive church edifice in the brotherhood.

The new parsonage was dedicated on September 11, 1966. A series of services of dedication for the new church were held from September 25th to 29th, 1966. Guest ministers for these services included Chauncey Varner, Executive Secretary of the York County Council of Churches, Dr. Paul E. Horn, resident district superintendent of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and Dr. Raymond Peters, the moderator of the Church of the Brethren. The congregation observed an organ recital, an Ecumenical night, a Community night and a Denominational night as part of the celebration.

On September 12, 1965, David B. Bagwell, of North Manchester, Indiana, became the assistant pastor of the church. He was a graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary and had served as the summer pastor of the Prince of Peace Church in South Bend, Indiana (1963). While he was serving in the Southern District he was ordained to the full ministry(1966). He resigned in 1967 to take up work as a teacher of chemistry at the Catonsville Community College, Baltimore, Maryland (1967-1971).

The ecumenical interests of the congregation grew with the years. In another section of this volume we have noted the church's hosting of the Russian Orthodox visitors. In 1966, the congregation hosted the York County Council of Churches Assembly. This was one of the largest meetings of the Council in recent years and the one at which Dr. M. Guy West was elected president of the York County Council of Churches. In 1968, M. Guy West was reelected to serve a second term in this ecumenical office. In early 1968, the church was host to a joint Protestant-Catholic worship service attended by 750 persons. The speaker was the Roman Catholic Monsignor George D. Mulcahy of Mount Saint Mary's Seminary. The priest termed the interfaith service "a minor miracle".

The church board accepted the resignation of Dr. M. Guy West "with very deep regret" in 1968. He assumed the pastorate of the San Diego, California congregation. In September, 1968, Curtis W. Dubble came from the pastorate of the Westminster, Maryland, Church to accept the pastorate at the First Church.

Curtis W. Dubble had been involved in Civilian Public Service during the war years and had wide pastoral experience and brotherhood interests. The church continued to grow under his leadership. He has been innovative in his approach to Christian work and worship. In a very large congregation, where pastoral visitation becomes nearly impossible, Pastor Dubble has introduced the practice of pastoral visiting by groups. On established nights, members of a community are asked to meet at a home of a member at a specified hour. The pastor meets with the group for discussion on the church and its ministry and concludes the meeting with a worship experience.

On September 1, 1969, Ralph Z. Moyer began to serve the congregation as the director of special ministries. He was a Bethany Biblical Seminary graduate and served in a pastorate in Virginia prior to his coming to the First Church. He has supervised the regular use of the large fellowship facilities at the church, has sponsored youth activities and has been responsible for the supervision of the Fresh Air program for the district. Each year the youth participate in the CROP walk. In 1970, the youth raised $560 for the poor of the world by their walk. In 1971, eighteen youth participated and raised slightly more than $1,000. In addition, Ralph Z. Moyer has been responsible for a series of educational programs centering on the church's outreach ministry, its peace program and the beliefs and practices of the denomination.

On June, 1972, the congregation sold a single brick dwelling in the central part of the city. This dwelling had been purchased by a church organization known as the Brethren of York Incorporated. The group had been incorporated in 1968 for the purpose of purchasing old, uninhabited housing in order to rehabilitate it and to resell it without profit to low-income families. The incorporators of the organization were Luther II. Yingling, Jesse O. Jenkins, Milton M. Baugher, George W. Heindel, Nancy Bowser, Leonard E. Stoner and Stanley S. Dotterer. The organization purchased the house in June, 1968, remodeled it and sold it to a mother with four children. The organization hoped to encourage other church groups to undertake similar projects to aid low-income families and to give them a sense of ownership.

The congregation has licensed and ordained many man to the ministry since 1940. These include J. Jack Melhorn (1942), Ernest Lefever (1942), Stanley S. Dotterer (1942), Chester H. Royer (1941, eldership), Roy E. Pfaltzgraff (1945), Donald F. Hursh (1947), Milton M. Baugher (1950), Arthur Hess (1951, eldership), J. Vernon Grim (1955, eldership), Paul Z. Rummel (1948, eldership), Jay Cannon (1962), David B. Bagwell (1966) and Paul E. Ritchey (1966, eldership).

When Hurricane Agnes struck the eastern coast in 1972, the First Church of the Brethren became a center for workers who went to the Wilkes-Barre area. During July and August, 1972, regular bus trips moved from the York area to the Wilkes-Barre area with volunteers who assisted in the work of restoration and rehabilitation in the flooded communities along the Susquehanna. Many of the volunteers were members the Church of the Brethren from the district.

The York Dispatch (August 11, 1972) carried an editorial in recognition of the work the Brethren did in Wilkes-Barre. The editorial said:
"A woman whose home was wrecked by the raging Susquehanna in June was just saying to members of the York's First Church of the Brethren: 'Why did you people come all the way from York to help us? I can't believe it. Why did you come?'
"The reply from one of the sixty-five volunteers who have been making the three-times-a-week trip to the Wilkes-Barre area was: 'When there is a need we want to help and we felt that you need help here in Forty Fort.'"

The newspaper editor went on to comment: "There's no glamor in doing the kind of work the Brethren people have been doing - cleaning up foul-smelling mud and debris from the flood. Your stomach must adjust to it. We're proud of these York area people. Where is there a better story of brotherhood in action -- the only kind that ultimately matters?"