Six Decades on Darlington Road
Sitting on Darlington Road in West York, Pennsylvania, West York Church of the Brethren has been a steady presence in the lives of York County families for nearly six decades. The congregation describes itself as a warm, welcoming community of Christians centered on a simple mission: to love, nurture, and build the community of Jesus Christ.
Sunday Mornings at 10:15
Worship is the heart of the week. Sunday service begins at 10:15 a.m., and the sanctuary fills with a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs led by the Praise and Worship team. Music Coordinator Beth Marshall directs the choir and musicians. For those who cannot attend in person, the service is livestreamed each Sunday on YouTube, and an archive of past services is available for viewing anytime.
Children are part of the service too. Children's Church meets each week during worship, and a nursery is open for children from newborn through three years old in a room off the gathering area.
Pastor Dick Godfrey
The congregation is led by Pastor Dick Godfrey, who began serving as the permanent pastor after more than two decades in ministry. Pastor Godfrey previously served at Madison Avenue Church of the Brethren, Gettysburg Church of the Brethren, and as Interim Pastor at Hanover Church of the Brethren. He and his wife Gerry have been married for 54 years and have two children and six grandchildren. Pastor Godfrey also works four days a week in the butcher shop at Godfrey Meats, a trade he has known since childhood. He enjoys church work, leading Bible studies, teaching Sunday School, the outdoors, mowing, and a long history on the softball field.
Sunday School and Adult Education
Christian education begins at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. The "Seeking Amazing Grace" Adult Education class, led by Pastor Godfrey, meets for an hour of study before worship. All are welcome.
Care and Share Women's Group
For women looking for fellowship, prayer, and study, Care and Share meets every Monday evening from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. by Zoom. The group, led by Judith Wallace, opens with a time of sharing and then turns to Bible study. The women also support a card ministry to the homebound and work alongside the Deacons' food ministry. Adult women from both the congregation and the broader community are invited to join.
Youth and Family
The church's youth group gathers so students can hear truth from God's Word and receive challenges to help them grow in their relationships with Jesus and others. Shawna Hake chairs the Youth and Family Ministry Team, working alongside the rest of the leadership to support families throughout the year.
The Child Education Center
Lois Hinson directs the church's Child Education Center, a preschool for three- to five-year-olds. The center provides a loving, caring environment that gives young children a solid foundation before they head off to kindergarten and reflects the same values of nurture and faith formation that mark the rest of the church's ministries.
Serving Others
The church takes seriously the call to care for neighbors near and far.
The food pantry distributes food to the hungry in the area twice a month. In 2022, the pantry served 223 families, including 352 adults and 56 children. Beyond handing out food, volunteers lend an ear and offer support to those they serve. The Deacons' food ministry is closely tied to this work.
The church partners with the Children's Aid Society, which operates the Lehman Center in York. The Lehman Center offers 24-hour crisis nursery care for children newborn through six years old, art and child-centered therapy, family advocate services, and parent support groups.
The Friends of Cross Keys Village supports residents of the Cross Keys Brethren Home who have outlived their resources. In 2019, the organization raised more than $75,000, much of it going to the Good Samaritan Fund for residents.
For people struggling with alcohol dependency, Alcoholics Anonymous meets at the church. AA is a non-professional, self-supporting, multiracial, and apolitical fellowship open to anyone who wants to find a better way of living.
The church also supports Brethren Volunteer Service, a one- or two-year volunteer placement program in the United States and abroad that has been part of the denomination since 1948, and Brethren Disaster Ministries, which walks with communities recovering from natural disasters by rebuilding homes, nurturing children, and responding globally. Members also share God's word through mission projects, including work with orphanages in Guatemala and relief efforts when natural disasters strike.
Brethren Heritage and Beliefs
The Church of the Brethren was born in 1708 at Schwarzenau, Germany, as an effort to put the teachings of the New Testament into practice. The denomination represents the Anabaptist and Pietist strands of Christianity.
West York's Affirmation of Faith confesses one personal God who creates, sustains, and orders all, with Jesus Christ as Lord of the Church and of all life, and the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts and minds of believers. The New Testament serves as the only creed and rule of faith, and the church holds that the gospel is the good news of God reconciling the world through Christ.
Distinctive practices of the denomination include the Love Feast and Communion Service, with a minimum of two bread and cup services per year; the Anointing Service as explained in James 5:13-16; trine immersion believer's baptism; peaceful resolution of conflict; religious freedom; and the conviction that war is contrary to the teaching of Christ (Matthew 5:38-48).
The congregation belongs to the Southern Pennsylvania District, which represents 35 congregations in central Pennsylvania with a membership of 3,895 (as of April 2022). The district maintains an office at 3375 Carlisle Road, Suite A, in Gardners, Pennsylvania, and supports ministry through The Brethren Home Community, Camp Eder, the Children's Aid Society, and Elizabethtown College.
A Local History
West York Church of the Brethren was begun in 1966. The original building was erected in 1969, with additions built in 1983 and 2003. The congregation supports weekly church school classes, fellowship activities, Vacation Bible School, Bible study groups, youth and ecumenical meetings, and a pastoral ministry for preaching, teaching, counseling, and visitation.
Getting Connected
Giving to the church is possible during services through the collection plate or online through the church's electronic giving page, available around the clock. Visitors who want to learn more can call the church office at 717-792-9260 or reach out by email at westyorkchurch@gmail.com. The Prayer Line can be reached by calling the office and selecting option 5.