Browncroft is turning 100 years old! Some might think, “Ok. So what?” Well, in my book a centennial is something to celebrate!
Now I admit that I’m a history lover. I was not always that way. For a time I cared little for trivia about facts and dates. In fact, “trivial pursuit” is still not particularly interesting to me. What led me to love history was a teacher who helped it come alive and challenged me to think about my place in it. For me, history is narrative, relationships, and how they play into a larger, truth-enlightening story line.
And that’s what we get to dive into starting this Sunday. Pastor Rob is going to begin a new series titled, “All In: Building on 100 Years of Life-Change in Jesus.”
We will be celebrating the faithfulness of our Lord and Browncrofters from ages past, even as we look to the years to come and explore how we can carry on the story — how we can build on the firm foundation given to us.
Celebrating A Rich History
I have only been at Browncroft for a couple years, but I have learned that our church has a rich history. It was born in an age different than our own — but perhaps with more similarities than we might think.
One hundred years ago the United States was in the early part of the Roaring Twenties — a time of economic prosperity and major technological changes in everyday life. It was also a time of cultural shifts in thought and behavior. This was the age of Prohibition and one in which the devastating “War to End All Wars” was a recent memory. But it was also the age of flappers, speakeasies, and other challenges to accepted values.
Within churches a major internal battle was being waged between “fundamentalists” who held to the orthodox Christian beliefs and “modernists” who questioned the authority of Scripture and miracles like the Resurrection of Jesus. Browncroft, which began as Brighton Community Church, formed when our founders felt compelled to leave a denomination that was then straying from the firm foundations of faith.
In the decades to follow BCC, which eventually became Browncroft Community Church upon moving to our current location — an old school — in 1980, made a significant impact on individuals and communities in Rochester and around the world.
Sharing In The Journey To Come
Would you like to know more? Perhaps you’d be interested in some highlights like the building of our sanctuaries, connections with well-known figures like Hudson Taylor and Billy Graham, radio and TV broadcasts, or family camps near Canadaigua? You can find that and more by visiting BROWNCROFT100.ORG.
Perhaps even more important on that webpage are ways that you can share your own memories from Browncroft’s past (you can also post them to #browncroft100) and ways you can be involved in our exciting story to come.
One last note, I hope you will put May 17 and May 22 on your calendar. Tuesday the 17th is the actual 100-year anniversary day for our church, and we will enjoy a time of worship, prayer, and reflection that evening. Meanwhile, Sunday the 22nd will be the culmination of the “All In” series. We’ll not only celebrate baptisms and other commitments in service, but we’ll also end with a great church picnic afterwards. We really hope you’ll be there as we enjoy and encourage one another on in being the church together.
Browncroft flourishes today thanks to God and the many families and individual believers He placed in our church who paved the way for us through their faithfulness in following Christ. I’m excited to celebrate this “Browncroft100” centennial with you!
