Church remembers Evangelical United Brethren roots
A delegate speaks during the 1968 Uniting Conference in Dallas that merged the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church into The United Methodist Church. UMNS photos courtesy of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.A UMNS Report
By Josh Tinley*
Forty years ago this spring, The United Methodist Church became The United Methodist Church.
On April 23, 1968, delegates from the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches voted to merge their denominations at a Uniting Conference in Dallas. Four decades later, as United Methodists return to the Dallas area for the 2008 General Conference, many former EUBs remain active in ministry and have differing opinions on how best to remember the denomination of their youth.
Methodists and EUBs had pursued union since the Evangelical Association and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ had merged in 1946 to form the EUB Church.
"As a young person, I was positive about the prospect of merger (with the Methodists)," recalled the Rev. James Skinner, who was ordained by the EUB Church in 1965 and served two EUB congregations before the merger.
"It seemed to fit the mood of the times-ecumenical coming together as one body of Christ. … The main response (among EUBs) was that this action was part of the broader ecumenical movement, and many expected that even more mergers would occur in the near future."
The Rev. Gary Olin, a former EUB in the East Ohio Annual (regional) Conference, says that mergers came naturally to the EUBs. "The EUB church was a leader in the cooperative church enterprises of the early 20th century. Because of our size we knew, unlike the Methodist Church, that we could not go it alone."
At the time of the merger, EUBs numbered fewer than 1 million. The Methodist Church, with more than 10 million members in the United States at the time, was one of the nation's largest Protestant denominations.
"I remember people discussing how they were afraid of being swallowed up. Others saw great opportunity in the broader field of Methodism," said Skinner.
Evangelical United Brethren Church Bishop Reuben H. Mueller (left) and Methodist Bishop Lloyd C. Wicke join hands on April 23, 1968.
The Rev. Sally Nelson-Olin, who was raised in the EUB Church but ordained after the merger, was part of the former camp. "At the time of the union, I felt as if my church had been swallowed by a whale," she said. "I had no hopes, and my fears were that the unique character of the EUB Church would be lost in the huge throng of Methodists."
Jason Vickers, director of the Center for Evangelical United Brethren Heritage at United Theological Seminary, said that the EUBs' willingness to merge with a much larger denomination was a testament to their unique character and ethos. Humility was a core virtue among the EUBs, he said, and they often "underestimated the strength of their own tradition." According to Vickers, this humility has had its drawbacks. "(The EUBs) have been forgotten in part because of their steadfast refusal to toot their own horn and to market themselves," he said.
EUB ethos
German settlers in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia founded the EUB Church's two predecessor denominations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The United Brethren trace their heritage to frontier revivals held by German Reformed minister Philip William Otterbein and Mennonite preacher Martin Boehm. While Otterbein and Boehm were launching a spiritual awakening among German settlers, Jacob Albright was attending Methodist class meetings. Albright liked the Methodists' theology but had trouble worshiping with them because he was not fluent in English. Albright set out on his own, preaching to a new generation of German-speaking Americans following the Revolutionary War. Albright's followers would form the Evangelical Association. Over the next 150 years both churches grew steadily in the mid-Atlantic states and throughout the Midwest.
From the beginning, both churches had close relations with the Methodists. Otterbein laid hands on pioneering Methodist bishop Francis Asbury when Asbury was ordained during the famous 1784 Christmas conference.
Shortly after the turn of the 19th century, the Methodists and United Brethren first considered merging. But disagreements about a written discipline, among other things, kept the churches from union. The Evangelicals and the United Brethren would flirt with union with the Methodists and with each other throughout the 19th and into the 20th centuries.
Four decades after the merger of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches, the EUB legacy has been in its doctrine and its ethos, according to Vickers.
"EUBs bring with them a strand of German pietism in which there's an emphasis on the Holy Spirit and holy living," he said, noting that the EUB Confession of Faith (which is included in the the United Methodist Book of Discipline) has a "fairly robust statement on Christian perfection." While holiness and sanctification were important to John Wesley's theology, the Methodist Articles of Religion do not include such a statement.
Vickers believes that the EUB ethos-of simplicity, humility and pacifism emphasizing work and family-is still alive in The United Methodist Church, particularly in the upper Midwest. "These are people who love God with both the heart and the mind. They tend to be well-balanced people who take care of their bodies, who worship God with their hearts. They are also persons who put a premium on worshiping God with the mind," he said.
Forgotten heritage?
Former EUBs have mixed feelings about how The United Methodist Church has remembered their tradition. Vickers rates The United Methodist Church "somewhere between average and poor," but adds the church does a mediocre job of remembering all aspects of its heritage.
The Rev. Fred Hill, who taught for 30 years at Indiana Central College (a United Brethren school that is now the University of Indianapolis), said that memory of the EUB tradition varies by tradition. He recalled that in the South, as recently as the late 1990s, some churches did not include the word "United" in their church's name on their Sunday bulletins.
Gary Olin believes that, at least in his annual conference, the church has done a good job of remembering and acknowledging his tradition. "I feared that within a few years following the merger that the 'United' would drop from common usage in the denomination's name," he said. "That has not happened in this part of the church."
Sally Nelson-Olin feels differently. "I'm not particularly pleased with the way The United Methodist Church appears to acknowledge only Methodist milestones, as if the Evangelical or United Brethren or Methodist Protestant churches were never part of the UMC," she said.
One such milestone was the 50th anniversary of women being ordained in full connection, which The United Methodist Church celebrated in 2006. While the Methodist Church first ordained women in 1956, women were serving as clergy in full connection in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ as early as the late 19th century.
"I confess to being a bit perturbed with the celebration of women clergy and having to constantly remind persons that the UB Church had done so before the former Methodist Church," Skinner said.
Susan Ruach, chair of the 50th Anniversary Task Force, said the United Brethren's decision in 1889 to ordain women was taken into consideration. But her group's research showed that, when the United Brethren merged with the Evangelicals (who did not ordain women), the new denomination decided that it no longer would grant women full clergy rights, though some conferences continued to do so. (Gary Olin's late wife, Rev. Judith Olin, was one of the women ordained by the EUB Church in the years between the mergers.)
Lasting roots
Several United Methodist colleges and seminaries have Evangelical and United Brethren roots. EUB predecessors are responsible for Albright and Otterbein universities, North Central and Lebanon Valley colleges, and the University of Indianapolis. The United Brethren founded Union Biblical Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in the 19th century; Union is now United Theological Seminary. The Evangelical seminary in Naperville, Ill., merged in 1974 with a nearby Methodist seminary to form Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.
This fall, United Theological Seminary's Center for EUB Heritage will host a conference on the history, doctrine and theology, and polity and ethos of the EUB Church and its predecessor denominations. More information about the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 12-13, will be available at the center's Web site, www.united.edu/eubcenter. A book on the same subject from Kingswood Books, Methodist and Pietist: Retrieving the EUB Heritage, is scheduled for release in 2009.
*Tinley is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn., and staff member at the United Methodist Publishing House.
Forty years ago this spring, The United Methodist Church became The United Methodist Church.
On April 23, 1968, delegates from the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches voted to merge their denominations at a Uniting Conference in Dallas. Four decades later, as United Methodists return to the Dallas area for the 2008 General Conference, many former EUBs remain active in ministry and have differing opinions on how best to remember the denomination of their youth.
Methodists and EUBs had pursued union since the Evangelical Association and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ had merged in 1946 to form the EUB Church.
"As a young person, I was positive about the prospect of merger (with the Methodists)," recalled the Rev. James Skinner, who was ordained by the EUB Church in 1965 and served two EUB congregations before the merger.
"It seemed to fit the mood of the times-ecumenical coming together as one body of Christ. … The main response (among EUBs) was that this action was part of the broader ecumenical movement, and many expected that even more mergers would occur in the near future."
The Rev. Gary Olin, a former EUB in the East Ohio Annual (regional) Conference, says that mergers came naturally to the EUBs. "The EUB church was a leader in the cooperative church enterprises of the early 20th century. Because of our size we knew, unlike the Methodist Church, that we could not go it alone."
At the time of the merger, EUBs numbered fewer than 1 million. The Methodist Church, with more than 10 million members in the United States at the time, was one of the nation's largest Protestant denominations.
"I remember people discussing how they were afraid of being swallowed up. Others saw great opportunity in the broader field of Methodism," said Skinner.
Evangelical United Brethren Church Bishop Reuben H. Mueller (left) and Methodist Bishop Lloyd C. Wicke join hands on April 23, 1968.The Rev. Sally Nelson-Olin, who was raised in the EUB Church but ordained after the merger, was part of the former camp. "At the time of the union, I felt as if my church had been swallowed by a whale," she said. "I had no hopes, and my fears were that the unique character of the EUB Church would be lost in the huge throng of Methodists."
Jason Vickers, director of the Center for Evangelical United Brethren Heritage at United Theological Seminary, said that the EUBs' willingness to merge with a much larger denomination was a testament to their unique character and ethos. Humility was a core virtue among the EUBs, he said, and they often "underestimated the strength of their own tradition." According to Vickers, this humility has had its drawbacks. "(The EUBs) have been forgotten in part because of their steadfast refusal to toot their own horn and to market themselves," he said.
EUB ethos
German settlers in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia founded the EUB Church's two predecessor denominations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The United Brethren trace their heritage to frontier revivals held by German Reformed minister Philip William Otterbein and Mennonite preacher Martin Boehm. While Otterbein and Boehm were launching a spiritual awakening among German settlers, Jacob Albright was attending Methodist class meetings. Albright liked the Methodists' theology but had trouble worshiping with them because he was not fluent in English. Albright set out on his own, preaching to a new generation of German-speaking Americans following the Revolutionary War. Albright's followers would form the Evangelical Association. Over the next 150 years both churches grew steadily in the mid-Atlantic states and throughout the Midwest.
From the beginning, both churches had close relations with the Methodists. Otterbein laid hands on pioneering Methodist bishop Francis Asbury when Asbury was ordained during the famous 1784 Christmas conference.
Shortly after the turn of the 19th century, the Methodists and United Brethren first considered merging. But disagreements about a written discipline, among other things, kept the churches from union. The Evangelicals and the United Brethren would flirt with union with the Methodists and with each other throughout the 19th and into the 20th centuries.
Four decades after the merger of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches, the EUB legacy has been in its doctrine and its ethos, according to Vickers.
"EUBs bring with them a strand of German pietism in which there's an emphasis on the Holy Spirit and holy living," he said, noting that the EUB Confession of Faith (which is included in the the United Methodist Book of Discipline) has a "fairly robust statement on Christian perfection." While holiness and sanctification were important to John Wesley's theology, the Methodist Articles of Religion do not include such a statement.
Vickers believes that the EUB ethos-of simplicity, humility and pacifism emphasizing work and family-is still alive in The United Methodist Church, particularly in the upper Midwest. "These are people who love God with both the heart and the mind. They tend to be well-balanced people who take care of their bodies, who worship God with their hearts. They are also persons who put a premium on worshiping God with the mind," he said.
Forgotten heritage?
Former EUBs have mixed feelings about how The United Methodist Church has remembered their tradition. Vickers rates The United Methodist Church "somewhere between average and poor," but adds the church does a mediocre job of remembering all aspects of its heritage.
The Rev. Fred Hill, who taught for 30 years at Indiana Central College (a United Brethren school that is now the University of Indianapolis), said that memory of the EUB tradition varies by tradition. He recalled that in the South, as recently as the late 1990s, some churches did not include the word "United" in their church's name on their Sunday bulletins.
Gary Olin believes that, at least in his annual conference, the church has done a good job of remembering and acknowledging his tradition. "I feared that within a few years following the merger that the 'United' would drop from common usage in the denomination's name," he said. "That has not happened in this part of the church."
Sally Nelson-Olin feels differently. "I'm not particularly pleased with the way The United Methodist Church appears to acknowledge only Methodist milestones, as if the Evangelical or United Brethren or Methodist Protestant churches were never part of the UMC," she said.
One such milestone was the 50th anniversary of women being ordained in full connection, which The United Methodist Church celebrated in 2006. While the Methodist Church first ordained women in 1956, women were serving as clergy in full connection in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ as early as the late 19th century.
"I confess to being a bit perturbed with the celebration of women clergy and having to constantly remind persons that the UB Church had done so before the former Methodist Church," Skinner said.
Susan Ruach, chair of the 50th Anniversary Task Force, said the United Brethren's decision in 1889 to ordain women was taken into consideration. But her group's research showed that, when the United Brethren merged with the Evangelicals (who did not ordain women), the new denomination decided that it no longer would grant women full clergy rights, though some conferences continued to do so. (Gary Olin's late wife, Rev. Judith Olin, was one of the women ordained by the EUB Church in the years between the mergers.)
Lasting roots
Several United Methodist colleges and seminaries have Evangelical and United Brethren roots. EUB predecessors are responsible for Albright and Otterbein universities, North Central and Lebanon Valley colleges, and the University of Indianapolis. The United Brethren founded Union Biblical Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in the 19th century; Union is now United Theological Seminary. The Evangelical seminary in Naperville, Ill., merged in 1974 with a nearby Methodist seminary to form Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.
This fall, United Theological Seminary's Center for EUB Heritage will host a conference on the history, doctrine and theology, and polity and ethos of the EUB Church and its predecessor denominations. More information about the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 12-13, will be available at the center's Web site, www.united.edu/eubcenter. A book on the same subject from Kingswood Books, Methodist and Pietist: Retrieving the EUB Heritage, is scheduled for release in 2009.
*Tinley is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn., and staff member at the United Methodist Publishing House.
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 6:50 AM
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