Mechanicsburg Church of the Brethren celebrates 100th year

By Sherri Kimmel

For nearly 100 years, Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren has served the spiritual and material needs of the surrounding community. On May 3, the church at 301 Gale Street will mark its centennial with a morning worship service centered on its anniversary theme “Yesterday’s Vision: Today’s Strength, Tomorrow’s Hope.”

Jeff Carter, president of Bethany Theological Seminary, will deliver the keynote sermon.

During Sunday school, Jeff Bach, director emeritus of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, will offer a message related to the congregation’s 100th anniversary.

Nashville recording artist Anita Stapleton will kick off the centennial weekend with a free concert Saturday, May 2. Stapleton, who began her performing career singing in the Mechanicsburg Church of the Brethren children’s choir, has been a background vocalist in the recording studio and live stage performances for country music notables that include Patty Loveless, Connie Smith, Charlie Daniels, Lee Greenwood, Moe Bandy, and Gene Watson. She has appeared on Grand Ole Opry Live, Live with Regis & Kathie Lee, Austin City Limits, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, among other television programs. In addition to playing music, she conducts guided tours of Nashville, sharing the music and history of the city.

Throughout its 100 years, Mechanicsburg Church of the Brethren has been an impactful church not only locally but in the denomination. In the 56 years of Southern Pennsylvania District executive leadership, two Mechanicsburg members, Stanley Earhart and Warren Eshbach, served as district executives for a combined 30 years, and newly elected executive, Traci Rabenstein, begins her service on April 6. Other members have been district conference moderators and served on the district board.

On the national level, Eshbach was chair of the former General Board, Colin Scott is immediate past chair of the Mission and Ministry Board, Wayne Scott was chair of the board of Eder Financial (formerly Brethren Benefit Trust), Vernne Greiner and Margie Fultz served on the board of the former Association of Brethren Caregivers, Theresa Eshbach was director of Institutional Advancement for Bethany Seminary, and on the denominational staff, Traci Rabenstein has been executive director of Mission Advancement and Delmas “Del” Keeney was executive director for Congregational Life Ministries.

*Mechanicsburg Church of the Brethren’s CROP Walk team for 2025. Photo by Del Keeney*

The congregation played a key role in establishing a Mechanicsburg branch of New Hope Ministries in 1989 and remains an avid supporter of the Christian social service agency that provides food, basic needs, and stability/workforce development to at-risk individuals in northern York and eastern Cumberland counties of Pennsylvania. Other local nonprofits the church staunchly supports are the Harrisburg office of Church World Service, Family Promise of Harrisburg Capital Region, the Brethren Housing Association, and the Wildcat Foundation.

In recent years, the congregation has fulfilled the calling to be “Jesus in the Neighborhood” by engaging the local community. Recent well-attended initiatives held at the church for area residents have included a spring Easter Egg Hunt, Burgers & Dogs cookout during the summer months, a spring rummage sale, a late-summer yard sale, and Trunk or Treat in the fall. The church annually supplies a team for Mechanicsburg’s Church World Service CROP Walk and offers Caregivers and Grief Support groups as well as knitting and quilting groups, Vacation Bible School, Winter Wednesday Bible School, an instrumental music ensemble and bell and vocal choirs, as well as other engagement opportunities.

As Mechanicsburg Church of the Brethren sets its path into its next century, it is guided by five core values:

Strengthening the Congregational Community, affirming one another’s gifts and celebrating God’s love and caring together.
Witnessing through Service and Outreach, assisting individuals and our community across cultures, religion and throughout the world.
Welcoming and Validating Others, receiving people with generosity, warmth, and patience.
Developing Believers, sharing what we have learned with others so they too may grow in their spiritual lives.
Living Our Faith, embodying the priorities that Jesus taught.

For more information see www.mechanicsburgcob.org, call 717-766-8880, or email mechanicsburgcob@verizon.net.

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