Dunkard Brethren Church

The Dunkard Brethren Church is a Conservative

Dunkard Brethren Church
Anabaptist denomination of the Schwarzenau Brethren
tradition, which organized in 1926 when they withdrew Classification Anabaptist
from the Church of the Brethren in the United States.[2] Orientation Conservative Anabaptist

The Dunkard Brethren Church observes the ordinances Theology Schwarzenau Brethren
of baptism, feetwashing, communion, the holy kiss, Associations Brethren World Assembly
headcovering, and anointing of the sick.[3] Origin 1926
In 2001, the Dunkard Brethren Church had Separations Conservative German
approximately 1035 members in 26 congregations.[2] Baptist Brethren Church[1]
As with other Conservative Anabaptist fellowships, the Congregations 26
Dunkard Brethren Church holds revival services and
Sunday School, in addition to being engaged in Members 1,035
evangelism and missionary work.[4] Official website dunkardbrethrenchurch.com
(http://www.dunkardbrethren
Name church.com/)

The name Dunkard or Dunker is derived from the Pennsylvania German word dunke (https://www.padutch
dictionary.com/#d=dunke), which comes from the German word tunken, meaning "to dunk" or "to dip".
This refers to their preference for the trine immersion method of baptism, in the forward position, observed
by all of the various branches of Schwarzenau Brethren.[5]

History
The Dunkard Brethren are a branch of the Schwarzenau Brethren or Dunkards, an Anabaptist tradition that
emerged during the Radical Pietist revival.[6] This movement began in 1708, when Alexander Mack and
seven other believers conducted baptism of new members by immersion in the Eder river in Germany.

The Church of the Brethren represented the largest body of churches that descended from this original
pietist and Anabaptist movement. For the history until 1926 see Church of the Brethren: Early history and
Church of the Brethren: The Great Schism.

Early in the 20th century, some members of Church of the Brethren in the United States, the largest of the
branch of the Schwarzenau Brethren, began to believe that there was a drift away from the old apostolic
standards, such as the wearing of plain dress and the headcovering.[2] Benjamin Elias Kesler (1861–1952),
an Elder of the Church of the Brethren in Missouri, addressed these concerns in a monthly paper. It was 20
pages and called The Bible Monitor, which he first published in October 1922. In 1923, Kesler was refused
a seat at the Annual Conference. His conservative sympathizers held a separate meeting in each of the next
three years.
During the Annual Conference in 1926, concerns nearly identical to those of Kesler and his sympathizers
were addressed by other members, but not resolved in a way that satisfied Kesler and his followers.
Subsequently the Kesler group withdrew from the Church of the Brethren and in 1926 formed the Dunkard
Brethren Church.[7]

Immigration to the U.S.

In 1719, led by Peter Becker, twenty families left Germany and immigrated to Germantown, Pennsylvania,
where they settled in what was then a separate community outside Philadelphia. Alexander Mack led 200
other Brethren to the Netherlands in 1720; after living there for nine years, they found that religious
conditions had deteriorated. They immigrated to Pennsylvania, joining the original Dunkard group.[8]

Belief and practice

Dunkard Brethren practice believer's baptism, that is, reserving baptism for a person old enough to commit
to belief. A believer is immersed three times to represent the Trinity: once in the name of the Father, once in
the name of the Son, and once in the name of the Holy Spirit. Most of the women of the Dunkard Brethren
dress in a plain manner, which has been associated with other Conservative Anabaptists, such as the
Conservative Mennonites (including the Beachy Mennonites), as well as Old Order Anabaptist groups,
such as the Old Order Brethren and Old Order Mennonites. Women are also expected to wear a plain white
headcovering, usually in the form of a kapp.[2] Men keep their hair cut short.[2]

The Dunkard Brethren practice the holy kiss and the love feast with feetwashing. Divorce is not allowed
for members of the church. They are discouraged from buying life insurance. Dunkard Brethren do not
swear oaths to the state or organizations, and do not file lawsuits without permission of the church. The use
of alcohol and tobacco is forbidden, as is watching television, or participating in gaming or gambling.
Participation in politics, or labor unions, and membership in secret fraternal societies such as the
Freemasons are seen as contrary to the Gospel and a pure heart.[9]

Members and congregations

In 1980 there were 1,035 members in 26 congregations.[9] The Dunkard Brethren Church has 25
congregations in the United States, with approximately 900 members. The majority of the churches are
located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, California, and Ohio. They support a mission
among the Navajo Indians in New Mexico, and a mission in Africa.

Publication
The church's publication, a paper that has been published monthly since October 1922, is called The Bible
Monitor.[1]

See also
Christianity portal

Conservative Mennonites
Beachy Amish
 Henry Studebaker, founder of the automobile company

References
1. Wenger, John C. (3 October 2000). The Mennonites in Indiana and Michigan. Wipf and
Stock Publishers. p. 426. ISBN 978-1-57910-456-6.
2. Lewis, James R. (March 2001). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions.
Prometheus Books. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-61592-738-8.
3. Dunkard Brethren Church Polity. Dunkard Brethren Church. 1 November 2021. p. 6.
4. Bronner, Simon J. (4 March 2015). Encyclopedia of American Folklife. Routledge. ISBN 978-
1-317-47194-3.
5. Durnbaugh, Donald F. (1983). The Brethren Encyclopedia. Brethren Encyclopedia,
Incorporated. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-318-00487-7.
6. Schneider, Hans (21 June 2007). German Radical Pietism. Scarecrow Press. p. 168.
ISBN 978-1-4616-5884-9.
7. Donald F. Durnbaugh (ed.) The Brethren Encyclopedia, Volume I, Philadelphia, 1983, pp.
408/9.
8. History (http://www.dunkardbrethrenchurch.com/Church-History.html) Archived (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20170420220736/http://www.dunkardbrethrenchurch.com/Church-History.ht
ml) 2017-04-20 at the Wayback Machine, Dunkard Brethren Church
9. Donald F. Durnbaugh (ed.) The Brethren Encyclopedia, Volume I, Philadelphia, 1983, page
409.

Further reading
Keith M. Bailey: They Counted the Cost: The History of the Dunkard Brethren Church from
1926 to 2008, Nappanee, 2009.
Donald F. Durnbaugh: Fruit of the Vine, A History of the Brethren 1708–1995, Elgin, Illinois,
1997.
Donald F. Durnbaugh (editor): The Brethren Encyclopedia, Philadelphia, 1983.
Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis Martin, et al. (editors): The Mennonite Encyclopedia, Hillsboro,
Canada, 1955-1959.

External links
Dunkard Brethren Church (http://www.dunkardbrethrenchurch.com/)

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