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History
Who are the "Plymouth" Brethren?
The following excerpts are from the foreword to Turning the World Upside Down and were penned by F.F. Bruce. The definition and brief synopsis of the beginnings of the Brethren movement are helpful in order to understand how we at Curtis Gospel Chapel are connected to our heritage:
The people called Brethren are often so described because they prefer to be known by a designation comprehensive enough to embrace all their fellow-Christians along with themselves. . .
The Open Brethren have no central organization. They belong to a large number of local churches or assemblies, spread throughout the world. Each of these local churches is independent in its administration; there is no federation or union linking them together. Yet there is a recognizable family likeness between them, and their sense of a spiritual bond is strong.
The Brethren movement originated around the year 1835, although the Brethren commonly insist that their roots are really in the apostolic age, for they aim as far as possible at maintaining the simple and flexible church order of New Testament times. The founders of the movement were a group of young men, many of them associated with Trinity College, Dublin, who tried to find a way in which they could come together for worship and communion simply as fellow-Christians, in disregard of denominational barriers. They had no idea that they were starting a movement; still less had they any thought of founding a new denomination, for that would have defeated the very purpose for which they came together.
From Dublin, the movement spread to England. In England the first meeting of Brethren was established at Plymouth in 1831; hence arose the popular term "Plymouth Brethren"
The Open Brethren have no doctrinal peculiarities. They hold the historic Christian faith, because they find it plainly taught in the Bible, which is to them, as to other heirs of the Reformation, "the only infallible rule of faith and practice." They are wholeheartedly evangelical in their understanding and presentation of Christianity, proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the all-sufficient Savior of those who put their trust in Him and as the only hope for mankind. For this reason they find it especially easy to cooperate in Christian witness with others who share this evangelical emphasis and in many interdenominational causes their influence is greater than their numbers might lead one to expect.
Dickinson's Hall - 1880's
Brethren evangelists from Scotland first came to North America in the early 1870s. The first of these was Donald Munro who began his work in Ontario in 1871. The result of these evangelists efforts was, as Robert Baylis identifies in his My People: The History of those Christians sometimes called Plymouth Brethren, "the making of disciples both men and women, and the calling of the young men to preach and teach the Word." One of these young men, who was a disciple of Munro, was T.D.W. Muir. Muir would become one of the widest read Brethren authors and largely influential in the growth of North American assemblies. Muir worked with Munro for several years, and then moved to Detroit, Michigan where he felt led to continue his ministry in 1881. It was through the work begun in Detroit by T. D. W. Muir that a group of believers began to meet in Dickinson's Hall, a rented space above Dickinson's Hardware Store. It was here that the Brethren began the first Annual Conference in Detroit in 1890.
Central Gospel Hall - 1907
In 1907 the Brethren meeting at Dickinson's Hall built Central Gospel Hall. During this time conferences continued and were held in a building called Old Fellows Hall, located on Commonwealth and Grand River in Detroit. Eventually attendance increased, and in 1930 the conferences moved to the Ionic Temple. Believers continued fellowshipping and breaking bread together at Central Gospel Hall until the late 1950s.
Curtis Gospel Chapel - 1957
In 1957 the gathering of Brethren at Central Gospel Hall decided to separate into several smaller assemblies. One of these assemblies was planted in the northwest corner of Detroit and was named Curtis Gospel Chapel after the name of the street Curtis on which is was located. It was at Curtis that the Annual Conferences were continued. These conferences are held even today (see page entitled "Conferences"). Believers continue to meet in the name of the Lord Jesus, break bread and fellowship at Curtis Gospel Chapel.
Looking back on the decades of work faithfully completed by countless godly men and women not only gives us an understanding of our heritage, it also provides us with encouragement to "never weary in doing good." May we be faithful with what the Lord has entrusted to us so that future generations may also look back and say "Great is Thy faithfulness." (Lam. 3:23)
The following excerpts are from the foreword to Turning the World Upside Down and were penned by F.F. Bruce. The definition and brief synopsis of the beginnings of the Brethren movement are helpful in order to understand how we at Curtis Gospel Chapel are connected to our heritage:
The people called Brethren are often so described because they prefer to be known by a designation comprehensive enough to embrace all their fellow-Christians along with themselves. . .
The Open Brethren have no central organization. They belong to a large number of local churches or assemblies, spread throughout the world. Each of these local churches is independent in its administration; there is no federation or union linking them together. Yet there is a recognizable family likeness between them, and their sense of a spiritual bond is strong.
The Brethren movement originated around the year 1835, although the Brethren commonly insist that their roots are really in the apostolic age, for they aim as far as possible at maintaining the simple and flexible church order of New Testament times. The founders of the movement were a group of young men, many of them associated with Trinity College, Dublin, who tried to find a way in which they could come together for worship and communion simply as fellow-Christians, in disregard of denominational barriers. They had no idea that they were starting a movement; still less had they any thought of founding a new denomination, for that would have defeated the very purpose for which they came together.
From Dublin, the movement spread to England. In England the first meeting of Brethren was established at Plymouth in 1831; hence arose the popular term "Plymouth Brethren"
The Open Brethren have no doctrinal peculiarities. They hold the historic Christian faith, because they find it plainly taught in the Bible, which is to them, as to other heirs of the Reformation, "the only infallible rule of faith and practice." They are wholeheartedly evangelical in their understanding and presentation of Christianity, proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the all-sufficient Savior of those who put their trust in Him and as the only hope for mankind. For this reason they find it especially easy to cooperate in Christian witness with others who share this evangelical emphasis and in many interdenominational causes their influence is greater than their numbers might lead one to expect.
Dickinson's Hall - 1880's
Brethren evangelists from Scotland first came to North America in the early 1870s. The first of these was Donald Munro who began his work in Ontario in 1871. The result of these evangelists efforts was, as Robert Baylis identifies in his My People: The History of those Christians sometimes called Plymouth Brethren, "the making of disciples both men and women, and the calling of the young men to preach and teach the Word." One of these young men, who was a disciple of Munro, was T.D.W. Muir. Muir would become one of the widest read Brethren authors and largely influential in the growth of North American assemblies. Muir worked with Munro for several years, and then moved to Detroit, Michigan where he felt led to continue his ministry in 1881. It was through the work begun in Detroit by T. D. W. Muir that a group of believers began to meet in Dickinson's Hall, a rented space above Dickinson's Hardware Store. It was here that the Brethren began the first Annual Conference in Detroit in 1890.
Central Gospel Hall - 1907
In 1907 the Brethren meeting at Dickinson's Hall built Central Gospel Hall. During this time conferences continued and were held in a building called Old Fellows Hall, located on Commonwealth and Grand River in Detroit. Eventually attendance increased, and in 1930 the conferences moved to the Ionic Temple. Believers continued fellowshipping and breaking bread together at Central Gospel Hall until the late 1950s.
Curtis Gospel Chapel - 1957
In 1957 the gathering of Brethren at Central Gospel Hall decided to separate into several smaller assemblies. One of these assemblies was planted in the northwest corner of Detroit and was named Curtis Gospel Chapel after the name of the street Curtis on which is was located. It was at Curtis that the Annual Conferences were continued. These conferences are held even today (see page entitled "Conferences"). Believers continue to meet in the name of the Lord Jesus, break bread and fellowship at Curtis Gospel Chapel.
Looking back on the decades of work faithfully completed by countless godly men and women not only gives us an understanding of our heritage, it also provides us with encouragement to "never weary in doing good." May we be faithful with what the Lord has entrusted to us so that future generations may also look back and say "Great is Thy faithfulness." (Lam. 3:23)