BMH to Sponsor Brethren Heritage Tour at Equip09
Posted by Terry White on May 29, 2009
Once again, the Brethren Missionary Herald Co. is sponsoring a stimulating and enlightening Brethren Heritage Tour as part of the national FGBC conference, Equip09. The tour will be Thursday, July 30, 2009, with the luxurious coach bus leaving the Columbus church at 1:15 p.m. and arriving back about 9 p.m. Your tour hosts will be the premier Grace Brethren historians, Dr. Todd Scoles and Dr. David Plaster, both of whom have written definitive books on the history of the Brethren movement.
The first stop on the tour will be Carriage Hill Farm, near Dayton, which was first settled in 1830 by a Brethren family, Daniel and Catharine Arnold. Operating now under the auspices of the Montgomery County park system, Carriage Hill Farm includes some 900 acres rich in cultural, natural, and Brethren religious history. We’ll tour the Visitor Center, the Country Store gift store, and the historical farm where household chores and farming are performed as they were 125 years ago. A park historian knowledgeable in Brethren history will personalize a lecture and Q&A time for our group.
We’ll then journey on to the Bear Creek Meeting House where an elder from our sister group, the Old German Baptist Brethren, will give a lecture and tour of the meeting house which was built in 1882 and has been little changed since then, with even the same benches being used in worship.
Our final stop will be the Brethren Heritage Center in Brookville, a rich research archive for Brethren history and genealogy. Nine Brethren groups, all tracing their origins to Alexander Mack and Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708, have cooperated in combining books, historical records, and artifacts for the Center. Currently comprising about 7,100 square feet, the Center is staffed by volunteers, includes historical displays and a bookstore, and more.
The tour will conclude with a delightful family meal at Rob’s Restaurant in Brookville, where since 1975 this family-oriented business has been providing delicious home-cooked meals in the German and American tradition.
An added special feature will be Jeff and Sherry Martin of the Powell Grace Brethren Church, who do historical reenactments of a Brethren elder and his wife, well-researched and in period costume. The Martins have agreed to join the tour in costume for some Q&A on the bus trip. Cost for the entire tour, including bus, meal at Rob’s and entry to all sites, is $30 per person. Register today, as seating is limited. Questions should be directed to Ann Myers at BMH by e-mailing amyers@bmhbooks.com.
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