Greencastle Church of the Brethren
A Brief History
The first church service was conducted on March 4, 1928 only twelve days after accepting the District Committee’s answer to the Brethren who sought to form a church in the borough of Greencastle. The Reverend W. G. Group delivered the sermon to a full house.
After an organizational meeting on March 22, 1928, the first session of Sunday School was held on April 1, 1928.
With permission from the District Meeting, the Greencastle congregation of the Church of the Brethren was organized as a new congregation on December 19, 1930 with sixty-nine charter members.
The church building on South Carlisle Street in Greencastle was then a Methodist Church. These facilities were rented by the Methodist congregation to Church of the Brethren from 1928 to 1940. During those years, the Church of the Brethren conducted their services on Sunday evenings, and the Methodist services were conducted on Sunday mornings.
The present church building, which was erected in 1851, was purchased from the Methodists, December 19, 1939, at a cost of $6,000. The deed was received March 3, 1940, and the debt was paid October 12, 1942. The membership at that time was 221.
As the membership enlarged and Sunday School attendance increased, the need for additional Sunday School classrooms was required. This resulted in the erection of the Educational Building on the east side of the church. This building was dedicated Sunday, June 7, 1959. It included classrooms, a kitchen, and a fellowship hall with a baptistery.
In the summer of 1971, the Greencastle Church purchased a new parsonage on Williamson Avenue. On August 7, 1975, the Vietnamese family sponsored by the Greencastle Church (Mr. & Mrs. Quach Phun Hai and son, Khang) arrived at Greencastle and made their home in the apartment in the Parish House on the north side of the church.
In 1980, the Church purchased properties north of the Parish House which included three apartments and a barber shop. Eventually the structures were torn down to make additional parking spaces for the church.
In 1990, it was decided by unanimous vote to completely renovate the interior of the sanctuary. The renovation included reversing the orientation of the sanctuary and moving the balcony to the opposite end. The educational building and the main building were connected with an addition that included a new main entrance facing the parking lot, two classrooms, three restrooms, dual open stairways, and an elevator. The second story sanctuary was finally totally handicap accessible. These renovations were completed in 1991. In 1998 the church purchased the vacated fire station adjacent to the south side of the church. It has been utilized for classroom space and other church and community activities.
Starting in 2005, the congregation embarked on a multi-phase building program. This included Phase I with renovations of the parish nurse office, the library, and some classrooms on the first floor of the main building and the addition of portable wall partitions in the fellowship hall to provide more classroom space. These renovations provided classrooms for classes which had been housed in the Parish House. As a part of Phase I, the Parish House was taken down in April and May of 2006. The condition of the building made it inefficient and unsafe to continue using it for classrooms. This also created additional parking space for the church.
Phase II continued during 2006 and 2007 with a major renovation of the front half of the former fire station. This included the replacement of the garage doors with permanent walls. Six spacious classrooms were built in the area that used to house the fire trucks.
Phase III was the replacement of the rear portion of the fire station with a multipurpose building that includes a gymnasium, restrooms, another classroom, a stage area, a storage room, and space for a new kitchen. This phase was dedicated in May 2011.
Phase IV, the finishing of the new kitchen, was completed April 2012. The construction loan was paid in full by 2014. In 2015 the stage and sound system were added to the gym.
Our facilities are handicap accessible and are being actively used and by our own programs and also being made available to other churches and organizations for many kinds of ministry and outreaches to our community.
The congregation is thriving and with God’s help will continue to carry out its mission: Win Souls for Christ and Nurture Believers in Their Faith.