Looking more forward than back, Rock Run Church celebrates 175 years

By Frank Ramirez

Herman Kauffman summed up his thoughts at the 175th anniversary celebration at Rock Run Church of the Brethren outside Goshen, Ind., by reciting an anonymous short poem about two passengers travelling westward in a covered wagon towards an unknown future:

“One sat looking forward,
And one sat looking back.”

The anniversary celebration “marks the transition from what we have been and what we might be,” he noted, then asked, “Who among us will be looking forward and who will be looking back?”

Kauffman, a retired pastor and district executive who grew up in Rock Run, preached his message Sunday morning, Sept. 14. Reflecting that the first members probably came by horse and buggy, he admitted despite his research he still could not determine who’d been the first to drive a car to worship. He likened his sermon to a commencement speech, noting, “People with passion can change the world for the better.”

Centering his message on the opening verses of Nehemiah, he remarked, “Our passion and our purpose begin to align when we pay attention to what God is putting on our hearts.” When Nehemiah heard from Judeans about the sad shape of the walls and gates of Jerusalem he wept, then mourned for days, but after prayer and fasting his purpose to organize rebuilding in Jerusalem came from God.

The church’s pastors, farmers, educators, and others all received a powerful calling to their vocations, all of which had strengthened the forward-looking church. In a sermon laced with fascinating anecdotes from Rock Run’s history, he insisted, “The danger is if we only look to the past. How will we, the living, build on the work of our ancestors?”

Dedication of a sculpture by sculptor Ryan Snider, a student at nearby Goshen College, for the Rock Run Church’s 175th anniversary. The sculpture was commissioned to be based on the Church of the Brethren logo. Photo courtesy of Frank Ramirez

The weekend included a Saturday program with a cemetery walk, an evening meal, and a service that featured an extensive slide show, a dramatic monologue by Deb Downing titled “Finding the Way,” two choir numbers including one written decades earlier for the congregation by noted Church of the Brethren composer Perry Huffaker.

The Sunday service included a children’s story by Bev Weaver, special music performed by former pastor Tim Waits and spouse Delia Waits, and remarks at both services by current pastor John Schrock.

The adult Sunday school class included memories shared by several members: commemorating a time when webs were left hanging because one woman worried about the spiders’ well-being; the congregation’s connection to the famed Faith the Cow and the inauguration of Heifer International; one member who was sometimes avoided at social events because his handshake was so powerful; and a youth class whose weekly offering, rarely more than a dollar, was always split 50-50 with the congregation. The punchlines of certain memories were sometimes drowned out because the shared memories called forth laughter before the story’s ending was delivered.

Carol Spicher Waggy, chair of the Anniversary Committee, decorated the walls of the Fellowship Hall with three parallel timelines, tracing the histories of the Rock Run congregation, the Church of the Brethren, and the United States.

The celebration was capped by the dedication of a sculpture by sculptor Ryan Snider, a student at nearby Goshen College. Commissioned to base it on the Church of the Brethren’s logo, Snider transformed the two-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional eight-foot sculpture fashioned from metal he recycled from a local junkyard. Wavy lines in the drawing became flowing water, holes recalled the wounds of Christ, and a three-tiered halo symbolized the Trinity. The artist explained some of the piece’s symbolism, after which Duane Grady formally dedicated the piece.

— Frank Ramirez is a retired pastor from Nappanee, Ind., who frequently writes for Newsline, Messenger, and other Church of the Brethren communications.

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