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Denomination
Open Circle is a member congregation in the Church of the Brethren. Who are the Brethren? The following selections are taken from the denomination's website. You can find much more information there.
Continuing the Work of Jesus
Though the Brethren as a group have existed for
nearly three hundred years, we subscribe to no formal “creed” or set of
rules. We simply try to do what Jesus did.
Jesus brought a message of life, love, and hope. But he offered much
more than inspiring words: He understood that people’s spiritual needs
also include day-to-day human ones — food, health, rest, comfort,
friendship, and unconditional acceptance. “I am the way,” he told his
followers. He showed them how to trust, how to care, and how to help..
Brethren Belief and Practice
For guidance, Brethren look to the scriptures rather than to doctrine.
Our faith emphasizes compassion, peacemaking, and simplicity. We
baptize those who seek to follow Jesus; we anoint for healing; and in
our love feast we re-enact the Last Supper, at which Jesus washed his
disciples’ feet and offered the bread and cup of communion...
History of the Church of the Brethren?
In August 1708 five men and three women gathered at the Eder River
in Schwarzenau for baptism, an illegal act since all had been baptized
as infants. They understood this baptism as an outward symbol of their
new faith and as a commitment to living that faith in community. An
anonymous member of the group first baptized Mack. He, in turn,
baptized the other seven. This new group simply called themselves
“brethren.”
Though the early Brethren shared many beliefs with other
Protestants, a number of issues separated them from the state churches.
Relying on the New Testament as their guide, these men and women
believed that Jesus had intended for his followers a different kind of
life—one based on peaceful action, plain and compassionate living, and
a shared search for truth. They also shared their faith
enthusiastically with others, sending evangelists to other parts of
Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Due to growing persecution and economic hardship,
Brethren began emigrating to North America in 1719 under the leadership
of Peter Becker. Most Brethren left Europe by 1740, including Mack, who
brought a group over in 1729. The first congregation in the New World
was organized at Germantown, Pa., in 1723. Soon after its formation,
the Germantown congregation sent missionaries to rural areas around
Philadelphia. These missionaries preached, baptized, and started new
congregations.
Their zeal, honesty, and hard work drew many new members into the
Brethren faith community through the 1700s. New congregations were
formed in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. With the promise of
inexpensive land, they moved into Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
and Missouri after the Revolutionary War. By the mid-1800s Brethren had
settled in Kansas and Iowa and eventually the West Coast..
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