First Church of the Brethren has stood on Bloomfield Street in the borough of Roaring Spring for over a hundred years, and its story begins with a long walk. In the late 1800s, Brethren families in Morrison's Cove either traveled eight miles to the Clover Creek meeting house or trudged even further to the Albright congregation. Some began attending the local Methodist church instead, where they found a pipe organ and good singing right in town. By 1910 the Albright Sisters Sewing Society had raised enough money selling bonnets, aprons, prayer coverings, quilts, and vanilla to buy two lots on a Roaring Spring hilltop from the heirs of the Lower family. The men of the Albright congregation had voted against the purchase, but the women went ahead anyway, and on October 5, 1910, the lots were turned over to the new congregation for one dollar. On October 30 of that same year a 62-by-66-foot sanctuary was dedicated with Dr. C.C. Ellis of Juniata College preaching the dedicatory sermon. That modest brick building became the seed of what is today First Church of the Brethren.
From a Hilltop Building to the Largest in Town
The new church grew quickly. Within a few years the men of the congregation were digging out a cellar to make room for more Sunday School classes, and during World War I the congregation bought a parsonage in spite of an influenza quarantine that forced leaders to visit members door to door to collect their votes. By the mid-1920s the original sanctuary had become too small, and in 1926 a building committee of Rev. A.C. Miller, S.B. Brumbaugh, Brook Sell, Homer Guyer, D. Grover Replogle, and R.R. Miller launched a major remodel. The work added balconies, a choir loft, new Sunday School rooms, a baptistery with a painting on the wall by a local artist named Fish Pote, a basement with a large dining hall, a well-equipped kitchen, two dressing rooms, a furnace room, restrooms, and the stained-glass windows that still fill the sanctuary today. The cost was $40,000, and on June 26, 1927, Dr. C.C. Ellis returned to preach the dedication. The remodeled building was considered the largest and most modern in Roaring Spring, and at that dedication the congregation took the name First Church of the Brethren. The old Albright house kept the name Albright.
By 1935 the church had 521 members, average Sunday School attendance had climbed to 371, and only about $13,800 of the building debt remained. The mortgage was burned on Home Coming Day, December 2, 1945. In the early 1950s membership passed 700, and Forest U. Groff, a building counselor from the Elgin staff, drew up plans for a remodel that brought the building up to state standards. The three-phase project was finished in stages between 1954 and 1958, with Rev. C.N. Ellis, then president of Juniata College, preaching the final dedication on November 8, 1958. In 1992 the congregation voted to add accessible entrances at the front and back of the building, and the Orr Group of Altoona completed that work for $150,000. The project was dedicated on January 30, 1994.
The Love Feast, the Choir, and the Molar Pipe Organ
Music has been central to worship at First Church since the beginning. In January 1947 the choir asked council for permission to purchase robes, and the motion passed on the condition that choir members pay for them themselves. In 1959 the church bought a Molar pipe organ with 438 pipes for $12,290; that organ served for forty-four years until the present organ arrived in 2003. Dale and Roxie Detwiler gave the piano that is still played in the sanctuary in 1957. Today the Chancel Choir is directed by Worship Coordinator Terry Hershberger and accompanied by Cathy Hoover Petre. The choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings September through May and sings for worship most of those months, with extra music for the special services of Easter and Christmas. No audition is required.
The Love Feast is the church's most distinctive Brethren tradition. Historically the entire ceremony - preparation, feet washing, a fellowship meal, and the communion - took place in the sanctuary, with men on one side and women on the other and tables that clamped onto the backs of the pews. Today most of the service is held in the Fellowship Hall, with friends and families sitting together. The church has added a hand washing station for those not physically able to wash feet. The deacons and deaconesses meet to prepare the communion bread with rolling pins and tools made by Wilson Kagarise, and a cloth on the table in the center of the chancel carries the inscription "In Remembrance of Me."
Sundays with Pastor Dave
Worship begins at 9:25 am each Sunday morning, led by Rev. Dr. David Crumrine, who the congregation calls Pastor Dave. The service is followed at 10:30 am by Sunday School for all ages. Children's Church is offered during the worship service for children in kindergarten through fifth grade; after the children's story they are dismissed to their own worship time with biblical lessons, crafts, stories, games, and snacks led by volunteers who each devote one or two Sundays a month. A nursery is available for children eight weeks through three years of age during worship, and activity bags appropriate for ages three through second grade can be picked up from any usher. Fellowship Time follows worship on the second Sunday of each month except in June, July, and August. The service is shared online through the church's YouTube channel.
Children Grow Up Here
Beyond the nursery and Children's Church, First Church runs several offerings for children throughout the week and the year. Sunday School meets from 10:30 to 11:30 am each Sunday with classes for nursery through age four, pre-K, kindergarten through second grade, and third through fifth grade. ReCharge, the Wednesday evening intergenerational program, gathers the whole church family in the Fellowship Hall at 5:45 pm for dinner together; at 6:30 the adults and youth go their separate ways and the children divide into age groups for lessons, crafts, experiments, and lively music that shares the stories of God's love. Vacation Bible School is held each summer in the evenings for typically one week. Every year brings a new theme, with crafts, snacks, games, music, and sometimes a special visitor or two, and the youth help with nightly skits, crafts, and music. Venture Club, a Wednesday evening program of choir, crafts, Bible stories, and supper for grades K-5, began in February 1994 and has been a gathering place for children ever since.
Junior and Senior Youth
Junior Youth is for sixth through eighth graders and meets regularly with youth leaders who teach Biblical truths through devotions, games, and a light dinner. Senior Youth is for ninth through twelfth graders and exists to keep older teens rooted in their faith through fun activities, service, and time together. The two groups combine for some activities to encourage fellowship across the grades, and members are encouraged to invite friends. In September the congregation offers every new sixth grader and any other sixth through twelfth grader not already enrolled a place in the mentoring program, which pairs a youth with an adult of his or her choice from the congregation to spend time with and to share and discuss problems. Every four years the church supports Senior High Youth who travel to the National Youth Conference, a Church of the Brethren tradition dating to 1954 that includes worship, workshops, service projects, and recreation. 5th Quarter is teen fellowship from 9:00 to 11:00 pm following Central High School home games, with food, fellowship, and friends.
Sunday School Classes and Bible Study
Adults have a choice of Sunday School classes that meet after worship. The Genesis class leans toward members whose children are in high school or have just left home, with a few more experienced members adding insight, plus service projects and a Christmas gathering. The Alpha class works through books, Bible studies, and video series with discussion, humor, and prayer, and its treasury supports a child through Compassion International. The Living Faith class meets in the church parlor with teachers Marlys and Terry Hershberger for vibrant discussions about living meaningful lives centered on Jesus Christ. Generation Hope and the Post High School class round out the adult Sunday School offerings.
Bible study is offered in two formats. On Tuesday mornings at 9:30 am an in-person Bible Study meets in the Alpha Classroom. On Wednesday evenings at 6:15 pm a Virtual Bible Study is held on Zoom, and during the school year ReCharge parents and others attend in person, giving the church a combined in-person and Zoom study.
Fellowship Around the Tables
Wednesday is a busy day at First Church. Ladies Aid quilters meet at 9:00 am in the Ladies Aid Room, sharing the love of their handcraft hobby. At 1:00 pm the Prayer Shawl Ministry gathers in the parlor, and women of the church make shawls for the sick, those having surgery, or anyone hospitalized. ReCharge begins at 5:45 pm with supper for the whole family. At 6:30 pm the Chancel Choir rehearses and the Virtual Bible Study opens on Zoom.
On Thursday mornings at 9:00 am the Breakfast Fellowship meets at the Traditions Restaurant and Bakery, and on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm the Knitting Group meets in the parlor for fellowship and shared projects. The Book Club gathers on the third Monday of each month at 10:00 am. The Sisters of Faith meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm at a varying local restaurant for a meal and a chance to know other women of the congregation. The Good Grief support group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm in the parlor for anyone who has suffered a loss. JOY - Just Older Youth plans enlightening activities and outings throughout the year for the 50-and-over group. M.U.M.s - Mothers Uplifting Mothers - encourages and supports mothers of all generations while developing relationships and self-care. The Men's Fellowship meets on the third Saturday of each month at 8:00 am for breakfast at a varying local restaurant.
Service Beyond the Sanctuary
First Church of the Brethren takes its call to be the hands and feet of Christ seriously. On the second Sunday of each month the church collects food for the food bank. The Disaster Response group meets on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Alpha classroom. Love Them Through It, a support group for those dealing with a loved one's struggle with substance abuse, meets on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 pm. The Women's Fellowship provides food for shut-ins, the sick or infirm, and comfort meals for families after a loss, and many lasting friendships are formed through their work. Pastor Dave and Dan Brumbaugh share in caring for the Prayer Chain and notifying the prayer warriors.
The church partners denominationally with the Brethren Disaster Relief Ministry, Heifer Project International, On Earth Peace Assembly, Camp Blue Diamond, the Brethren Service Center, and Bethany Theological Seminary. The Sunday School classes support missions through Compassion International and other giving, and a self-help handcraft shop once operated under the Women's Fellowship, with proceeds going back to craftspeople in more than forty countries.
Beliefs, Mission, and Heritage
First Church sits within the Church of the Brethren, an Anabaptist and Pietist tradition that began three centuries ago in Germany and is one of the historic peace churches. The church's mission is to be a community of welcome and worship where people find peace, purpose, and power through Jesus Christ. Its vision is to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving with open minds and hearts. The congregation values discipleship and spiritual growth fed by the Holy Spirit through prayer, worship, Christian education, and practical local and global outreach, embraces Jesus' command to go and make disciples, values hospitality through inviting people into warm, caring, and respectful relationships, and treasures its Brethren heritage while remaining open to the work of God's spirit now and in the future.
Administration is run through an eleven-member Leadership Team that meets on the first Tuesday of each month and oversees five core teams: Finance and Facility, Christian Education, Missions and Service, Worship, and Hospitality and Communications. For one-time events the appropriate team develops an Impact Team that is dissolved when the event is complete, requiring fewer commitments and more opportunities to serve when called.
Visiting First Church of the Brethren
The church stands at 901 Bloomfield Street in Roaring Spring, Blair County, Pennsylvania, in the Middle Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren. Sunday worship begins at 9:25 am and is followed by Sunday School at 10:30 am. The building is accessible at the front and back entrances. Children's Church for kindergarten through fifth grade is offered during the worship service, a nursery is available for children eight weeks through three years, and activity bags for ages three through second grade can be picked up from an usher. The service is shared online through the church's YouTube channel, and online giving is available. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm, and visitors are warmly greeted each Sunday morning by a congregation that has been welcoming neighbors and travelers for over a hundred years.