Mennonite seminary celebrates Brethren 300th anniversary

A reunion of cousins is what participants called the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Brethren churches hosted by Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind.

The two-day event, October 2 and 3, included several opportunities for representatives of the Church of the Brethren and the Brethren Church to meet with students and faculty of AMBS. “The celebration was an opportunity to “listen and affirm affinity between these two Anabaptist groups with parallel origins,” Jeff Bach, one of the presenters, said.

Bach, who is director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist studies in Elizabethtown, Pa., gave an overview of the Brethren movement which began with the baptism of three people by immersion in 1708. He continued by enumerating overlapping concerns among the Brethren and Mennonites. Both are Scripture-rooted movements, he noted, with emphasis on an effort to live out the faith, practice discipleship, do mission and prepare for Christ’s second coming.

Mennonites and Brethren both “emerged because of dissatisfaction with the reforms that were happening,” Bach said. “People now are wondering whether the concerns of these early movements could be helpful today.” Though he cautioned listeners not to use history as a blueprint for the future, he emphasized that concerns of the early members of the groups, such as the emphasis on Scripture and following Christ, can guide people of faith today.

The culminating session of the celebration was a worship service in which three presenters explored the present, past and future. Tom Shiefer, moderator of the Brethren Church and senior pastor Nappanee (Ind.) First Brethren Church, said, “My prayer is that we don’t stop with celebration, because that would be untrue of our heritage as Brethren. The early Brethren founders lived in the present as they served Christ and served each other. That’s what being Brethren is about in the present; it’s allowing God to move.”

Bach looked at the past by sharing three stories of Brethren who risked adversity for what they believed: Christopher Sauer II, a printer in Pennsylvania at the time of the Revolutionary War; Sarah Rider Major, a woman who felt called to preach even when the church did not allow it; and John Kline, who worked for peace and emphasized evangelism and was killed during the Civil War. He asked listeners to “hear in the stories not three individuals or celebrities, but the gift of God’s grace; not just stories of a dead past, but stories of a fruitful past that can still bear fruit in our time through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Ruthann Knechel Johansen, president of Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind., first reflected on similarities between situations at the time the Brethren movement emerged and today. “There was in the 17th and 18th centuries a wedding of church and state that in the mind of our forebears undermined the gospel of the Jesus Christ. We live with something quite similar in our own time,” she said. Other similarities she pointed to were the reliance on military power, the fascination with empire-building, and the devastation of the 30-year war that is paled by the violence of the 20th century in Europe, Asia and Africa.

“In the midst of such conditions a small group of individuals with faith in Christ’s way of love studied scriptures together and chose another way of being in the world; with courage and radical commitment they risked wealth and security,” she said.

Then Johansen invited listeners to consider new ventures for collaboration among the three peace church traditions, Brethren, Mennonites and Quakers. In the heart of Indiana, Johansen pointed out, are three historic peace church colleges and three historic peace church seminaries. She asked what they could do that would deepen their witness and their own faith traditions. Her suggestions included work together on a theology of peace, establishing a center like the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies in the midwest, and establishing a center for interfaith dialogue.

Rosanna McFadden, AMBS student and member of the planning committee, said, “It was significant for me to be part of this event to gain a richer perspective of both my Brethren heritage and the Mennonite perspective of it. The respectful questions and listening that arose as a result of discussions were a meaningful part of the event for me. I was surprised how touched I was to hear stories of people from my own faith tradition—Christopher Sauer II, Sarah Major, and John Kline—shared as part of our worship on Friday evening.“

Steve Schweitzer, AMBS professor and member of Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in South Bend, said, “As members of the Historic Peace Churches, Mennonites and the various churches belonging to the Brethren movement need to work together to promote God's shalom. In celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Brethren movement, and especially in bringing key individuals to speak at AMBS, I am excited by the potential for more frequent interactions, particularly in the Midwest and even in Indiana. As all Anabaptist denominations are concerned about what their futures will look like, I hope this event has given all of us some positive energy on which to build.”

The event was coordinated by the Institute of Mennonite Studies (IMS), the research and publishing arm of AMBS. Planning committee members included Grace Mishler, AMBS student; John Rempel, AMBS professor and associate director of IMS; McFadden and Schweitzer.

Mary E. Klassen / October 2008