Published: July 04, 2008 11:01 pm         

Brethrens to celebrate 300th anniversary

A special conference celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Church of the Brethren and of the Brethren Church will be held in Richmond, Va., July 12 to 16. This marks a historic occasion as the first joint annual meeting of the two Brethren denominations since a schism of the Brethren movement in the 1880s.

This event also will be the Church of the Brethren’s 222nd recorded Annual Conference. Up to 6,000 people are expected.

Local Church of the Brethren congregations are to send delegates to the conference. Congregations in the Goshen area include Community Church of Waterford, 65154 C.R. 21, Goshen; Goshen City Church of the Brethren, 203 N. Fifth St., Goshen; Little Pine Church of the Brethren, 57061 C.R. 19, Goshen; Rock Run Church of the Brethren, 64985 County Rd. 33, Goshen; West Goshen Church of the Brethren, 1200 Berkey Ave., Goshen; and Yellow Creek Church of the Brethren, 65575 C.R. 11, Goshen.

The Church of the Brethren and the Brethren Church both stem from the Brethren movement that began in 1708 in the village of Schwarzenau, Germany, when the eight founders of the movement were baptized in the Eder River.

A major Sunday morning worship event July 13 be the Church of the Brethren and the Brethren Church joining together officially in worship for the first time since the 1880s.

A “service blitz”— two days of service projects around Richmond — is planned for July 12 and 14. A food drive will be held to benefit the Central Virginia Food Bank.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three historic peace churches.