Here's 200 years of history
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| Worshipers enter Gridley UMC on Aug. 20, a week before their pastor suddenly quit the UMC. Gridley has roots in the 200 year old United Brethren Church. The building seen here was built in 1950 to replace a 19th century castle-like structure a couple of blocks away, which was sold to a Lutheran congeregation that still uses it. UM Review photo/Ted Langdell |
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Otterbein |
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Boehm |
National celebration of United Brethren roots is this month
By Janet Engle
Chairman, Conference Commission on Archives and History
This year we honor the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United Brethren Church, September 26, 1800, when they met for their first Conference in Frederick County, Maryland at the house of Brother Frederick Kemp.
Founding fathers were Martin Boehm, a Mennonite preacher in Pennsylvania and Phillip William Otterbein, a German Reformed pastor in Baltimore. These ministered to a German-speaking population in early America.
A union with the Evangelical Association in 1946 became The Evangelical United Brethren Church. The EUB merged with The Methodist Church in 1968 to become The United Methodist Church.
Churches in our Conference with United Brethren heritage are: Durham; Gridley; OaklandRockridge; Riverdale; SacramentoRiverside. Kerman–Beulah merged with Kerman First UMC in 1995 to form the Kerman church. Selma-Christ UMC merged with Selma-First UMC in 1972.
Clergy members of our Conference with United Brethren heritage include Harvey N. Chinn, Robert G. Keller and Philip R. Selfridge.
All these were recognized in the Conference plenary session on Saturday, June 17.
The national celebration of this Bicentennial will be held September 24-26, 2000 at the meeting of The United Methodist Historical Society at Wesley Memorial Church, Baltimore.
To learn more about the United Brethren Church, visit http://www.gcah.org/Museum/UB_Display/page_1.htm
For historical information about the United Methodist Church, check with the General Commission on Archives and History at http://www.gcah.org
There are plenty of links to United Methodist history on the General Board of Global Ministries history links page, http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/