The original 1983 publication of The Brethren Encyclopedia was comprised of a Three Volume set totaling over 2,100 pages. An additional Fourth volume, to update information of the first three, has just been released. The initial inspiration for this project grew out of an On Earth Peace (see footnote) gathering at the Brethren Service Center (New Windsor, MD) in the 1970's. Noted Brethren figure M.R. Zigler was moved to express that the various Brethren bodies (they prefer this label instead of denomination or group) emanating from the original Schwarzenau Brethren had not officially acknowledged one another since their various divisions almost one hundred years before. Zigler then suggested that it would seem appropriate that before On Earth Peace Assembly considers further plans for world peace, that there should first be peacemaking among these fractured Brethren groups. That was the inspiration which started a cooperative process resulting in the publication of The Brethren Encyclopedia in 1983.
- Volume 1 : A - J, contains alphabetic entries from “Abilene, KS, Church of the Brethren” to “Justification, Doctrine of;” as well as a detailed history of the founding of Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., a listing of contributing authors.
- Volume 2 : K - Z, contains entries from “Kahler, Dean” to “Zunkel, Cleda.”
- Volume 3 : “Lists - Maps” offers enormous information: Chronology of Brethren History, numerous Maps showing Brethren membership distributed by state and county, Statistical Data about congregations, districts, and regions (including population density and shifts by percentage), List of Congregations by denomination, nation, and state, List of Ordained Ministers and Elders, List of Educational Institutions, and List of Missionaries by denomination. Researchers will delight in the meticulously collated parcels of information in these numerous lists, especially genealogists and historians.
- Volume 4 : A long awaited endeavor to update much of the original information that has changed since its original publication in 1983, and to incorporate new information that has come into existence since that time.
Original Board Of Directors
- Robert S. Lehigh (DB) - President
- Dale R. Stoffer (BC) - Vice President
- Dale V. Ulrich (CB) - Secretary
- Terry D. White (FGBC) - Treasurer
- Michael Miller (OGBB) - Member
- Isaac Graham (CGBCI) - Member
Original Editorial Staff
- Donald F. Durnbaugh - Editor (January, 1978 - November, 1983)
- Dennis D. Martin - Assistant Editor (August, 1979 - July, 1983)
- Joyce McConnell Cassell - Editorial Assistant: Congregational Articles; Work Flow Manager (June, 1978 - July, 1981)
- Carolyn Teach Denlinger - Family History Editor (September, 1979 - December, 1980)
- Renate E. Durnbaugh - Research Assistant (January, 1983 - August, 1983)
- Linda L. Fry - Research Assistant: Ministers' List; Congregational Articles (January, 1981 - August, 1983)
- Cathy Simmons Huffman - Research Assistant: Ministers' List (September, 1978 - August, 1980)
- James H. Lehman - Photographic Project (January, 1980 - November, 1981)
- Carol Nearpass Martin - Editorial Assistant: Work Flow Manager (July, 1980 - August, 1983)
- Delia M. Miller - Research Assistant: Congregational Articles (June, 1982 - November, 1983)
- Kenneth 1. Morse - Features Editor; General Articles (October, 1979 - June, 1983)
- Stephen A. Newcomer - Map Project (September, 1982 - August, 1983)
- N. Geraldine Plunkett - Copy Editor (September, 1980 - November, 1983)
- Mary Mowery Taylor - Word Processor Operator; Ministers' List (April, 1982 - November, 1983)
Abbreviations & Links
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Expressed written permission granted to Church of the Brethren Network by
Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 313 Fairview Avenue, Ambler, PA 19002
Graphic reproductions, Copyright, BEI 1983, COB-NET 2003
All rights reserved
