Fraternity Church of the Brethren celebrates 250 years

“Fraternity Church of the Brethren is 250 years old!” said an announcement of the congregation’s upcoming Homecoming and anniversary celebration on Sept. 13-14.

“Take a moment to think about that. In 1775 when the American Revolutionary War was being fought, when this country was being founded, it was documented that a group of ‘Dunkard’ Brethren held a baptism near Muddy Creek, and an organized Brethren Fellowship has existed continuously here since then.”

Fraternity, in Winston-Salem, N.C., and has a storied history. However, as its bicentennial celebration committee noted in a booklet published to mark its 200 years in 1975, “The course of history of any congregation is determined by the lives of dedicated leaders and faithful members who had a vision. The heritage of Fraternity is a collage of the many members who have attended, taught, ministered, counseled, worshipped, fellowshipped and served in this community and in other areas including other countries. The true history, then, of Fraternity is embodied in the story of the lives of these people and not in simply a chronology of events.”

The congregation traces its beginnings to two Brethren men who were among those moving to the Americas from Europe, in the decades following the first Brethren immigrants moved to the Germantown area of Pennsylvania.

The two “destined to play a vital role in establishing and nurturing the Fraternity Church…were Jacob Faw and Jonathan Burkhart who moved from Switzerland about 17501,” said a history of the church published in 1975. “Jehu (or John) Burkhart, Jonathan’s son, migrated to the Muddy Creek area in 1775 and became the first elder of the newly formed Fraternity congregation. Jacob Faw and his family joined the group at Muddy Creek about 1778 where his son, Isaac (1773-1835) married Burkhart’s daughter, Magdalene, and assumed the leadership at Fraternity after John Burkhart left.

“Elder Jacob Faw (1810-1887), son of Isaac (1773-183??), became the leader of the Fraternity Congregation about 1845, several years after his father’s death. He held the congregation together during difficult times and it grew in numbers during his 42-year ministry.”

The church’s history has included a split in the congregation in 1885 when a portion withdrew to join the Old Order Brethren; the building of a new meetinghouse and its remodeling and improvements over the years; the shift from free ministry to professional ministry; the zeal for mission and support of church members to serve on the mission field; the loss of church member Dr. Russell Robertson who with his wife, Bertha, a nurse, served four years as medical missionaries in Africa before his untimely death; support for the work of Church World Service; support for Bridgewater College and Camp Bethel; church members participating in Brethren Volunteer Service; and many other developments over the decades.

“There have been many changes over the years, but our faithful God has not changed!”