Church of the Brethren:
Its History and Its Charitable Work
Via Quilt Activities
by Patricia L. Cummings
with photos and information
from Ken Schaffer, Library Director; Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, Director of News Services; George Keeler, Glen Reigel, Ken Wegner, photographers, and various Internet files
Black and white photo from 1993 taken by George Keeler. Courtesy of Brethren Historical Library and Archives
This research explores quilt activities within the Church of the Brethren.
First, a short, historical summary of the group.
In 1708, Alexander Mack (1679-1735) is credited with founding a religious denomination that was called "Church of the Brethren." The initially small group was based in Schwarzenau, Germany where they had initially baptized each other in the Eder River in Westphalia. Later, they migrated to Holland in an attempt to escape religious persecution and to find work. Eventually, with the promise of religious freedom in America, all of the members of this religious group would move there.
The basis of the group's belief is Anabaptism (baptism in a flowing river, and only as a consenting adult). According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, the practice of Anabaptism was "begun in the 1520s and 1530s by radical Protestants."
The religion is based on German Pietism as well. The term "Pietism" refers to a 17th century movement for the revival of piety in the Lutheran church, according to the same dictionary. Today, the Church of the Brethren is described as both ecumenical and evangelical.
Note that the Church of the Brethren is a distinct group apart from various other groups that originated in Europe from the 15th to 18th century who include the word, "brethren" in their title.
Second photo from 1993 quilting bee, photo by George Keeler, shared here courtesy of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives.
Reminder: All photos in this file are copyrighted to the Church of the Brethren. Do not reproduce them without the Church's written permission.
Land Grant Brings "Brethren" to the New World
In 1681, William Penn was given 45,000 acres of land in America that came to be known as "Pennsylvania," in settlement of a debt owed to his father by
Charles II, King of England. The first "Brethren," 120 souls, arrived in Germantown in 1719. They established the first congregation in America on Christmas Day 1723. By the following year, two more congregations were set up at Coventry and Conestoga.
A quilter is shown here preparing a wall quilt for auction at the 2009 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in San Diego, CA. The annual pieces, sponsored by the Church's Association for the Arts, are auctioned to benefit hunger relief. Ken Wenger photo, copyrighted by the Church of the Brethren.
New Awareness Leads to Seeking Answers
More than a year ago, I contacted Kenneth M. Shaffer, Jr. who is the Director of Brethren Historical Library and Archives. At that time, (March 25, 2008), Ken wrote the following:
Yes, there is a tradition of quilt making in the Church of the Brethren. But since you have never heard of the Church of the Brethren, let me idenify us. The Church of the Brethren (known as the German Baptist Brethren before 1908 and often called by nicknames such as Dunker and Dunkard) began in Germany in 1708.
Editor's Note: The verb "to dunk" means to immerse in water. The Church of the Brethren believes in "trine" baptism, which means that the baptismal candidate is "dunked" three times in a full immersion situation. In Christianity, the number 3 represents the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (referred to as the Holy Spirit by the Roman Catholics). Thus, the symbolic dipping or "dunking" led to the group's other names: "Dunkers," or its synonym, "Dunkards," terminology that exists in present-day Pennsylvania.
It is not part of the Amish and Mennonite tradition, but all three groups share a similar cultural background in that they came from Germany to Pennsylvania during the colonial period. For more information of the church, see the book, Church of the Brethren Yesterday and Today, edited by Donald F. Durnbaugh (Brethren Press, 1986).
Another view of a 2009 quilting bee with members of the Church of the Brethren
Then, Ken goes on to quote The Brethren Encyclopedia, page 2147, that states:
Quilting is an important form of aesthetic expression in Brethren churches. Many congregations have quilting circles, which makes quilts for fundraisers and to commemorate important events such as births, weddings, and the retirement of church leaders.
Each year, at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, a quilt is made and sold to raise funds for hungry people. Dozens of quilters work on the quilt over a peiod of several days.
He concludes his letter by saying that he does not know of any other sources of information to which he could refer me. I printed this letter and saved it as a topic that I would like to pursue at another time. That time has come.
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Actually, there is a photo of a Dunkard's Bear Paw quilt, made in 1865, that is all cotton and measures 74" x 76". This image can be seen online. This is a part of the Kitty Clark Cole Collection indexed by Michigan State University.
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Annual Convention Photos from June 2009 Quilts for Auction in San Diego
Tara Hornbacker, Assistant Professor of Ministry Formation at Bethany Theological Seminary, and spokesperson for Church of the Brethren's Association of the Arts, is shown here providing an introduction to the auction quilts at the 2009 Annual Conference that took place from June 26-30, 2009. The wall quilts raised $6,275.00 for hunger relief.
This colorful wall quilt was among those auctioned. The juxtaposition of the complementary colors of blue and orange throughout the surface is lovely, as are the religious blocks including the cross, the church, the praying hands and others.
Close-up photo of an embroidered Butterfly block that features the logo and scripture theme of the 2009 Brethren Annual Conference. Photo by Glenn Riegel and owned by the Church of the Brethren.
A view of the convention floor as photographed by Glen Riegel. Photo copyrighted to Church of the Brethren.
Many thanks to all who corresponded with me to answer my questions. Clearly, all who create quilts for the purpose of bringing comfort to others are to be appreciated and honored. Thanks to all of those anonymous quilts shown here, and a big thank you to the photographers who were able to preserve the images of these quilts and quilters.
There are congregations of this denomination in many, but not all, of the 50 states of the United States!
©Copyright 2009. Patricia Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All rights reserved. Write to us at: pat@quiltersmuse.com