Peacefully, Simply, Together in Annville
On East Maple Street in the Lebanon County town of Annville, the Annville Church of the Brethren has gathered as a congregation around a single, three-word motto: Peacefully. Simply. Together. Members describe themselves as partners in biblical teaching, compassionate service, peace witness, and joyful fellowship, a family of God that cares for one another, helps each other serve the Lord, and continues the work of Jesus in this corner of central Pennsylvania.
Worship on Sunday mornings centers on a blended service that draws from both traditional and contemporary styles. The church is also known for practices that sit at the heart of its Brethren identity: trine immersion baptism, the Love Feast with footwashing, and the anointing of the sick. Around those anchors, a wide circle of programs for children, youth, adults, and seniors fills the week.
Sunday Mornings on East Maple Street
Sunday School begins at 9:00 a.m. and runs through 10:00 a.m. from September through May. There is no Sunday School in June, July, and August. The blended worship service that follows begins at 10:15 a.m. and usually continues until about 11:30 a.m. Junior Church is offered during worship for children ages 4 through fifth grade, and a nursery for children from birth through age 4 is open throughout both the Sunday School hour and the worship service.
Services are also livestreamed on Facebook Live, with the stream beginning around 10:10 a.m. Selected past services are posted to the church's YouTube channel about a week after they happen. The worship style draws on the church's belief in the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5), so different lay members lead worship on different Sundays, and preaching teams that include multiple voices are common. The worship leader for a given Sunday may guide the call to worship, the invocation, the invitation to give, the dedication prayer, and the reading of scripture. Pew Bibles are NIV, so readings are usually given from that translation so the congregation can follow along.
The Sunday School hour offers a full range of classes for every age:
- Nursery and child care for children from birth through age 4 during both the Sunday School hour and the worship service.
- Twos and Threes, a class that meets upstairs next to the nursery.
- Fours, Fives, Kindergarten, and First Grade, meeting downstairs.
- Second through Fifth Grades, also meeting downstairs.
- Junior and Senior High Youth for grades 6 through 12, with youth advisors coordinating fellowship activities, service projects, and youth-led worship services, and encouraging participation in the National Youth Conference of the Church of the Brethren once every four years, as well as annual national and international workcamps.
- New Beginnings, a class of young adults, primarily young married couples, that is eager to welcome new people.
- For You, Too, an intergenerational class that studies current events in the light of Scripture and prays for one another.
- In Our Prime, a class of senior adults, usually studying the International Lesson, meeting in the library beside the church office and welcoming anyone of any age to take part in its Bible study and fellowship.
Beliefs and Practices
Annville Church of the Brethren holds that Jesus Christ is "God with us" and that his life exemplifies the way to new life, makes possible renewed fellowship with God, and prepares the way for eternal life. Members believe God's love and will are continually being revealed through the activity of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer and within the community of faith. The church affirms the inspiration of the Bible and holds the New Testament to be its final authority for faith and practice.
Members seek to shape a life of love, peace, and simplicity together as a faith community based on the belief that Christ is known in the body of believers that gathers to serve and remember him. The congregation practices four ordinances: baptism, love feast, anointing, and laying on of hands. Whoever wishes to make a covenant with God and accept the responsibilities of faithful church membership is welcomed into membership.
Trine immersion baptism is central. The early Brethren were nicknamed the Dunkards for fully immersing new believers three times, once for each person of the Trinity, in keeping with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. The congregation treats this three-fold immersion as part of what it means to be Brethren.
The Love Feast, observed twice a year on Maundy Thursday in the spring and on World Communion Sunday in the fall, follows the pattern of the Last Supper: a shared meal, footwashing, and the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup, interspersed with hymn singing. The deacons prepare the meal, which in recent years has included rice soup with beef and dinner rolls. Members reflect on the words of Alexander Mack, the first Brethren minister, about remaining in "simplicity and true faith in the original church which Jesus founded through his blood."
Anointing with oil is offered for healing and wholeness, usually administered privately by the pastor, assisted by one or more deacons and sometimes a layperson, with opportunity for confession. The Brethren interpret this as the restoration of wholeness in body, mind, and spirit, rather than as last rites. The act is also used at times to commission leaders and to mark spiritual renewal. Bread and Cup Communion is observed on the first Sunday of most months for members who wish to share a simpler form of the communion meal.
The Pastoral Team
The church is served by a husband-and-wife pastoral team, Pastors Paul and Brandy Liepelt. They can be reached at pastors@annvillecob.org. Diane Shearer directs the choir, and the church gives thanks for the long ministry of James M. Beckwith, who served as pastor from November 1, 2004 through June 2015 and who worked for 39 years in ministry before his retirement.
Worship at Annville intentionally involves many voices. The church gives thanks for its preaching teams and invites members to consider serving as a lay worship leader, a role in which they lead the call to worship, invocation, invitation to give, dedication prayer, and scripture reading. The hymnal itself includes suggestions for many parts of the service, and the church's library keeps copies of For All Who Minister, the Church of the Brethren pastor's manual, available for borrowing.
The Deacon Ministry
Deacons are called for three-year terms with no limit on the number of terms they may serve. Each deacon couple or individual is assigned a specific group of people to care for. Their responsibilities include visiting and calling those in their care group, providing support during hospitalizations and life transitions, praying for them, assisting the pastors with anointing and baptisms, and being available for urgent needs when the pastors are away. As a body, the deacons prepare the Love Feast and Bread and Cup Communion services, welcome new members and visitors, and work at being peacemakers within the congregation. They share in the gospel and love of the Lord with all persons. The ministry draws on passages including 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Acts 13:1-3, 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, and Ephesians 4:11-13.
Children, Youth, and the Next Generation
Beyond Sunday School, children and youth are folded into the life of the church through several programs. Kids Klub provides activities for children during the week, with volunteers creating meals for the kids and playing alongside them. Vacation Bible School and Junior Youth Camp offer additional summer touchpoints, and the active youth group takes part in fellowship, service projects, and youth-led worship. The youth also participate in the National Youth Conference of the Church of the Brethren once every four years, alongside annual national and international workcamps.
Child safety is taken seriously. The congregation affirms that children should be safe from all forms of abuse and neglect, and the church has adopted a written child protection policy that is currently being revised to comply with 2018 updates to Pennsylvania state law. Adults who work with youth are required to obtain Pennsylvania State Police background checks and Child Abuse History clearances, and copies are kept on file through the church office and the volunteer coordinator, Mike Fair.
Music and Worship
Choir Director Diane Shearer leads the choir through the year, and the choir takes one Sunday during Advent to present a Christmas program during the worship service. The worship team also opens services with meditation music and has invited musicians to join in this ministry. The church hosts occasional free community concerts, with freewill offerings going to outreach causes such as Brethren Disaster Ministries.
The Chicken Pot Pie and the CROP Hunger Walk
Compassionate service is one of the four pillars in the church's motto. The Free Outdoor Food Pantry sits at the entrance to the parking lot on Maple Street and is open for neighbors to take what they need. Donations of nonperishable food items are welcomed and can be dropped off at the church. The Giving Garden supplements food distribution with fresh produce grown on church grounds.
The annual Chicken Pot Pie Fundraiser is one of the best-known projects in the wider community. Church members Kathy Schrader and Kate Wentling have organized the sale for a decade, using a recipe that originated decades ago from Charlotte and Gladys Wampler. About sixty chickens go into the production, which involves peeling potatoes, working dough, stirring the pot pie as it cooks, and filling containers. Between 625 and 650 quarts of Pennsylvania Dutch chicken pot pie are sold each spring, raising several thousand dollars that has supported denomination outreach, sending church youth to camp and to the National Youth Conference, kitchen renovations, and other community needs. The same crew also prepares pot pie for the annual Disaster Relief Auction in Lebanon, with proceeds going to disaster relief through the Church of the Brethren.
The Annville CROP Hunger Walk brings the congregation into the wider community's effort to fight hunger locally and around the world. Walkers raise pledges, and a fundraiser precedes the walk itself.
The church supports four ministries beyond its own walls: Camp Swatara, a Brethren camp in Bethel, Pennsylvania; Lebanon County Christian Ministries, a local food and assistance ministry in Lebanon; Brethren Disaster Ministries, the Church of the Brethren's disaster response program; and Church World Service, a broader ecumenical relief agency.
Annually, the church hosts the Good Friday Cross Walk, organized through the Annville-Cleona Area Council of Churches. Members of area congregations gather to carry a cross between seven stations and a public witness stop, beginning at Annville Church of the Brethren and ending back at the church, with a route that passes through several local congregations and the Lebanon Valley Home.
Fellowship and Life Together
Fellowship events run through the year and across age groups. Women's Fellowship hosts a benefit auction each year, and Men's Fellowship hosts a chicken barbecue. A softball team carries the church name onto local diamonds. The Quilters meet every Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. and welcome anyone who wants to learn.
Trunk or Treat brings children and families to the parking lot on Halloween evening. The Easter Egg Hunt happens at the South Annville property just before Easter. All-church events such as roller skating nights and the Lenten lunch-time worship series keep the calendar full. Carry-in meals draw members together around the table several times a year.
Outdoor summer events at South Annville include the Outdoor Summer Concert and the Outdoor Movie Night, with food trucks and games added to recent movie nights. Children's Day and the All-Church Picnic each June close out the Sunday School year with a morning of recognition for the children and an afternoon of food and fellowship. The church distributes water at Old Annville Days, and team members play softball together through the warmer months.
The South Annville Pavilion
The South Annville Pavilion, at 739 Church Road in Lebanon, hosts the Easter Sunrise Service, the Children's Day and All-Church Picnic, the Easter Egg Hunt, and the Outdoor Summer Concert. The pavilion gives the church room to gather for events that would not fit inside the East Maple Street building, and is an important part of the congregation's life in the warmer months.
Special Services Through the Year
Beyond the regular Sunday rhythm, the church marks the Christian year with several services that draw on Brethren practice. The Love Feast on Maundy Thursday in the spring and the Love Feast on World Communion Sunday in the fall are the highlights of the church's observance of communion. Bread and Cup Communion is observed on the first Sunday of most months. A Lenten lunch-time worship series runs through Lent, and a Christmas Eve candlelight service closes the Advent season. The choir's Christmas program and the children's Christmas program each take a Sunday morning during Advent, and an afternoon of Christmas caroling follows the children's program.
Joining In
Visitors who want to attend a service will find the church at 495 East Maple Street in Annville, with Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. and blended worship at 10:15 a.m. Parking is available in the lot off Maple Street, where the outdoor food pantry is also located. Those who prefer to participate from home can join the livestream on Facebook Live, beginning around 10:10 a.m., or watch a recent service on YouTube. The church office can be reached by email at acob@annvillecob.org, and the pastors at pastors@annvillecob.org. Volunteer opportunities range from teaching Sunday School and leading worship to quilting on Tuesday mornings, cooking for Kids Klub, helping with the outdoor food pantry, or serving on the deacon ministry. There is room to take part simply by attending on a Sunday morning, and there is room to take part more fully through the many groups that meet through the week.