In 1767, in a barn outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a German Reformed pastor named William Otterbein listened to a Mennonite preacher named Martin Boehm give his testimony. The two men came from different traditions and had every reason to keep their distance. Instead, Otterbein crossed the floor, embraced Boehm, and said, “Wir sind Brüder” — we are brethren.
That embrace is where our denomination began. Not with a doctrine or a building, but with two believers recognizing each other.
It is worth remembering that when Sunday morning comes and staying home feels easier. Faith in our time is often described as a private matter — something between you and God that requires no witnesses. But the United Brethren have never believed that. We are a connectional church. We value what our forebears called the counsel of the brethren, because we know how easily a person drifts when no one is walking beside him.
Scripture is plain about it. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24–25). Spurring and encouraging are not solitary activities. They require someone in the next pew.
There is something a sermon on a screen cannot do. It cannot notice you are missing. It cannot sit with you when the news is bad, bring a meal when the baby comes, or pray over you when the doctor calls. A congregation can. That is not a bonus feature of church — it is the point of it.
Here at Mt. Carmel, the Bible is still holy and God still reigns. And the people who believe that are easier to hold onto when we hold onto each other.
Sunday morning service is at 11:00 a.m., 11466 Brocks Gap Rd., on the hill across from Fulks Run Grocery. Come as you are. We would be glad to meet you.