Page 63 - Pictorial History of EUB Church by Glovier
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63 HISTORY OF THE VA CONFERENCE, E.U.B. CHURCH—D.F. GLOVIER
CHAPTER 10
VIRGINIA CONFERENCE PREDOMINANTLY UNITED
BRETHREN
and
PERIODS OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION
At the time of the merger of the Church of the United Brethren in
Christ and the Evangelical Church in 1946, there were 144 U. B. Churches
within the bounds of the Virginia Conference. The Conference minutes
of 1951, six years after the merger of the two denominations, reported a
total membership of 21,120. At this time no Evangelical Churches had been
incorporated in or reported to the Virginia Annual Conference. The Berkeley-
Morgan Charge of five churches reported 322 members to the Annual
Conference of 1952. In 1956 the Cumberland Bethel and Calvary
Evangelical Churches of Cumberland, Maryland reported memberships of
54 and 58 respectively. Snyders Evangelical Church, which had merged with
Staters U. B. Church, brought in a membership of 43. The total membership of
these eight Evangelical Churches when they joined the Virginia Conference
was 477. Only two former Evangelical ministers had transferred to the
Virginia Conference by 1964. They are the Reverend George E. Schnabel
and Reverend Joseph P. Sheesley both from the Pennsylvania Evangelical
Conference. The name of Reverend Schnabel appeared on the Conference
Ministerial Register first in 1951, and the Reverend Sheesley joined the
Conference in 1956. Of the 102 names on the Ministerial Register, 2 are
former Evangelical, of the 150 churches in the Virginia Conference 8 are
former Evangelical, and of the 22,304 members in the Conference in 1964,
about 500 are from the former Evangelical Church. So we see that the
Virginia Conference is predominantly made up of former United Brethren
Churches, Members, and Ministers.
The United Brethren Church from its very beginning took a strong
stand against slavery as being a great evil. Prior to the Civil War there were
no United Brethren Churches in Virginia except in the northern Shenandoah
Valley. At the outbreak of the Civil War the Virginia Conference had 3,000
members, including the Maryland section. During the years of the War, the
Conference was divided into northern and southern sections, the northern
section being in Union territory and the southern section in Confederate
territory.
CHAPTER 10
VIRGINIA CONFERENCE PREDOMINANTLY UNITED
BRETHREN
and
PERIODS OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION
At the time of the merger of the Church of the United Brethren in
Christ and the Evangelical Church in 1946, there were 144 U. B. Churches
within the bounds of the Virginia Conference. The Conference minutes
of 1951, six years after the merger of the two denominations, reported a
total membership of 21,120. At this time no Evangelical Churches had been
incorporated in or reported to the Virginia Annual Conference. The Berkeley-
Morgan Charge of five churches reported 322 members to the Annual
Conference of 1952. In 1956 the Cumberland Bethel and Calvary
Evangelical Churches of Cumberland, Maryland reported memberships of
54 and 58 respectively. Snyders Evangelical Church, which had merged with
Staters U. B. Church, brought in a membership of 43. The total membership of
these eight Evangelical Churches when they joined the Virginia Conference
was 477. Only two former Evangelical ministers had transferred to the
Virginia Conference by 1964. They are the Reverend George E. Schnabel
and Reverend Joseph P. Sheesley both from the Pennsylvania Evangelical
Conference. The name of Reverend Schnabel appeared on the Conference
Ministerial Register first in 1951, and the Reverend Sheesley joined the
Conference in 1956. Of the 102 names on the Ministerial Register, 2 are
former Evangelical, of the 150 churches in the Virginia Conference 8 are
former Evangelical, and of the 22,304 members in the Conference in 1964,
about 500 are from the former Evangelical Church. So we see that the
Virginia Conference is predominantly made up of former United Brethren
Churches, Members, and Ministers.
The United Brethren Church from its very beginning took a strong
stand against slavery as being a great evil. Prior to the Civil War there were
no United Brethren Churches in Virginia except in the northern Shenandoah
Valley. At the outbreak of the Civil War the Virginia Conference had 3,000
members, including the Maryland section. During the years of the War, the
Conference was divided into northern and southern sections, the northern
section being in Union territory and the southern section in Confederate
territory.
