HISTORY

 

Copper Hill Church of the Brethen was organized in 1874 with twelve members.  The first building used as a congregational meeting building was an old log structure located off what is now Huff Mill Road.  The church was built as a simple square with two front doors, one for the men to enter and one for the women to enter.  There were three pews across the church.  An "amen" corner was where ministers and elders were seated.   Two woodstoves provided heat.  The first remodeling of the church took place in 1930. 

 

There was a loft over the church used to house men and boys who traveled to the annual Communion/Love Feast service from other areas the night before the fourth Sunday in September.  The service began at four o'clock and ran until after dark.  The Love Feast consisted of an examination service, a feet washing service, a meal and Holy Communion.  The Deacons cooked the beef for Communion  in a large iron pot rather than the ladies of the church.  For a long time, it was a "closed" Communion only for Church of the Brethren members but it is now open to all born again Christians.  It still takes place on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday in September.  That Sunday is now set aside as Homecoming.

 

 

As the church grew, it began to reach into other communities following a denominational tradition of establishing preaching points in other communities.  Two of those original preaching points, Bottom Creek and Adney Gap, are now closed.  Airpoint, which became Mount Union COB, continues today as an active, flourishing church.  The first ministers, called from the assembled group, were "free will" ministers, meaning they worked for no pay.  Later in the twentieth century the "set apart" ministry became more traditional.  In 1926 the Ladies Aid formed.  Notes from Council Meetings through the next decades indicate it was Ladies Aid who not only supported community/international projects through their work, but also helped pay the church's bills as necessary.  The Ladies Aid quilted, made applebutter, sold flavorings and greeting cards.  The group's mission has always been to provide for others' needs.

 

In 1935, the congregation secured the first full-time Pastor.  An active youth fellowship (Church of the Brethren Youth Fellowship) developed and grew under the guidance of Howard and Gladys Nichols.  They established a program over a period of nearly twenty years which was later continued by other volunteer leaders who still see that young people have the opportunity for both fellowship and developing relationships with God.  It is one of the characteristics of our denomination that we are all a priesthood of believers.  We are all called to ministry whatever that ministry may be.  We are New Testament believers who seek to follow the example of Christ, the Son of God.  We know we cannot say we love our Father God if we do not love our fellow humans and the world God created.