Week 12 Preview – Church of the Brethren

My project takes me down the street to the local Church of the Brethren gathering this week. Most of my perceptions about this denomination come from a few pastors that I’ve watched at a distance and reading the weekly messages on the church sign as I drive by. If I had to sum up my notions in one word it would be ‘peaceful.’

The church in my neighborhood was built near the same time I was born. I’ve always known it to be there, but I’ve only entered the building once for a wedding. I’m looking forward to this visit.

Here are a few things that I’ve learned online about the Church of the Brethren:

• They don’t follow any creeds other than the writings in the New Testament. They particularly like Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
• The Brethren really care about peace and are proponents of solving conflict through non-violent means.
• Although most Brethren churches have paid pastors these days, the churches, districts, and denomination are largely run by the laity.
• Baptisms are done by immersing the believer three different times (for Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in the forward direction since that is the way Jesus’ head fell when he died.
• While starting in the United States as a more conservative denomination, the Church of the Brethren is currently known to be more socially liberal than many of the denominations that are hierarchy led.
• There are roughly 1000 Brethren churches in the United States with an average of 125 members per church. They do not actively seek out new members.
• In Nigeria, wanting to get away from the sexism in the word ‘brethren,’ the denomination is known as the ‘Church of the Children of the Same Mother.’