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Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service -- June 19, 2008
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director
800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org

>BRETHREN DENOMINATIONS HAVE A HISTORY OF

>COOPERATION

(June 19, 2008) Elgin, IL -- The cooperative planning between the
Church of the Brethren and the Brethren Church for this year's historic
Annual Conference of the two denominations represents the largest such
effort since the major division of the Brethren movement in the 1880s.

The 2008 Annual Conference celebrates the 300th Anniversary of the
Brethren movement, which began in 1708 when the first group of eight
Brethren were baptized in the Eder River in the village of Schwarzenau,
Germany. This year's Annual Conference is being held in Richmond,
Va., on July 12-16, as a cooperative effort of two of the largest
denominations in the Brethren movement: the Brethren Church and the
Church of the Brethren.

By the 1880s, three groups had emerged among the Brethren: the old
orders, who took the name Old German Baptist Brethren; the
progressives, adopting the name Brethren Church; and the conservatives,
who are now known as the Church of the Brethren. The conservatives
had characteristics of both groups, still plain on the one hand and at the
same time adopting progressive methods--just at a slower pace than
advocated by the progressives.

Time has changed all of these groups in some ways, but even as the
different groups of Brethren maintain separate identities, Brethren at
times enjoy fellowship and work together on common projects. These
projects are intended as cooperative efforts rather than steps toward
unification.

This year's Annual Conference has by no means been the only gesture of
cooperation. Ministers and members have moved between the Brethren
Church and the Church of the Brethren from time to time. There have
been numerous times over the years when officers or other
representatives from both bodies have brought greetings at each other's
conferences. Queries have been presented at both denominations'
conferences for formally reuniting (in 1925, 1934, 1947, and once in the
1990s to name some of these efforts), but an informal fellowship and
occasional mutual project has been the path taken.

Beginning in 1944, a number of Brethren Church missionaries worked in
Nigeria in conjunction with the Church of the Brethren mission program.
The Brethren Church and Church of the Brethren continued to work
together in the Nigerian mission through the 1950s and 1960s. In the
1940s, the two denominations worked together in peace witness and war-
time agencies, along with mission and relief programs.

On June 12-13, 1973, a meeting was held at "Tunker House " in
Virginia. Church of the Brethren leader M.R. Zigler succeeded in
gathering 125 members representing the five major Brethren bodies for a
gathering to "shake hands." Lectures were presented, and those present
also participated in worship. As a follow-up, Joseph R. Shultz of
Ashland, Ohio, hosted a study conference in April 1974.

Another study conference among Brethren groups took place at Bethany
Theological Seminary in Oak Brook, Ill., in 1976. This was the
beginning of many more conferences of Brethren groups, of which this
summer's gathering at Schwarzenau is a continuation. At the Oak Brook
meeting, M.R. Zigler made a suggestion that sparked discussion about
the development of the "Brethren Encyclopedia." Donald F. Durnbaugh
then developed a formal proposal for this reference work. As a result, the
Brethren Encyclopedia Board was formed. The encyclopedia board has
produced numerous publications and continues to function as an
informal cooperative fellowship among Brethren today.

The two denominations had a joint ministry in the form of the Columbus
Cooperative Brethren congregation starting on July 1, 1930. This
continued until 1980 when the congregation dropped its affiliation with
the Church of the Brethren. In southern Ohio, a Brethren Heritage Center
has existed since 2001 that involves most of the Brethren groups in the
area. It has a board of directors including Brethren from several groups.

In Dec. 2000, Brethren Church executive director Buzz Sandberg
extended words of friendship to the Church of the Brethren through the
denomination's newsletter. In his article, Sandberg expressed regret for
the break in the Brethren family and his desire for healing. The Church
of the Brethren responded to the gesture with a statement of friendship at
Annual Conference the following year.

At about the same time, the Church of the Brethren's 300th Anniversary
Committee extended an invitation to the Brethren Church to have
conferences at the same time and place in 2008, in order to
commemorate the 300th Anniversary and fellowship together. The result
is our upcoming gathering in Richmond, Va., which will be attended by
some members of other Brethren denominations as well.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its
faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and
Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches.  It
celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts more than 125,000
members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and
sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and
India.

(This article was provided by Dean Garrett, a member of the 300th
Anniversary Committee of the Church of the Brethren. References
include "Brethren Encyclopedia" articles by Dale R. Stoffer, Donald F.
Durnbaugh, and other authors, and minutes of the Church of the Brethren
Annual Conference.)

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren General Board
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org

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