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Beliefs and History

Basic Beliefs

Our basic beliefs include:

  • We are founded on the faith that there is one God, a personal God who in holy love creates, sustains and orders all.
  • We confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the church and of all life.

    • Westminster Church of the Brethren Worship Service

  • We believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts and minds of believers, creating and sustaining the church through the gospel, giving guidance and comfort and uniting believers with their Lord and with one another.
  • We maintain the New Testament as our only creed and rule of faith. In the Holy Scriptures is recorded God’s search for all people which is climaxed in God’s redemptive act in and through Christ. Through the Bible, God still speaks and continues to accomplish God’s redemptive purposes.
  • We believe that the gospel is the good news that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Through the gospel, God’s sovereign will and Christ’s redeeming grace are revealed.
  • We hold that the church is the body of Christ and is under the Lord’s mandate to be faithful in accepting and sharing the gospel by word and deed.
  • We consider that all members of the congregation are responsible for the total ministry of the church.
  • We accept that the ministry of the church is the proclamation and fulfillment of the gospel for all people both near and far, and the nurturing of individual believers in the Christian faith and life

History

The Pipe Creek Church of the Brethren purchased an English Baptist church building on the current site at Bond Street and Park Place in 1879 for its members who lived in Westminster. In 1885, Westminster became part of the Meadow Branch Church of the Brethren. The Westminster building was replaced with a larger one in 1932. The Westminster Church of the Brethren was incorporated as a separate congregation on April 7, 1937. Once incorporated, George A. Early became the first elder and A. Stauffer Curry its first pastor.

A two story education building was built in 1959. In 2006, much of the church and education building received renovation work. The church has no building debt, which frees it for service ministry.

The Westminster Church of the Brethren is a part of the Church of the Brethren denomination, founded in 1708 in Germany. It began as the confluence of the Pietist and Anabaptist movements, stressing Bible study, small group prayer, collective interpretation of the scripture, simple living, acts of service and the avoidance of violence. The Church of the Brethren accepts the core traditional beliefs and doctrines of most of Christianity. Its position of “no creed but the New Testament” reflects an openness to continued insight in understanding the entire New Testament. The Brethren believe in the doctrine of non-resistance or pacifism (shared with the Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, and Moravians); and follow the New Testament’s directive to observe feet-washing as a part of Love Feast and Communion. In addition, believers’ immersion baptism is practiced. The denomination strives for balance between personal discipleship and service. The denominational tagline reads:

“Peacefully. Simply. Together. Another Way of Living.”

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