Report of the
Historical Committee
The past is not our future.
Those who long for the good old days might offer an argument. We would be better off, they suggest, if things were like they used to be. Why don’t we just follow the Bible like they used to?
Say it again – the past is not the future. We don’t live there anymore. Even though the past seems kinder and gentler, less intense and more secure, it is not where we are and not where we are going. So why bother with history and heritage? Why keep the memories alive? Why remember people long gone?
The philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” It is a good thought. The BFC story contains things we would like to forget and things we can never forget. Our past contains lessons to be learned about what not to do and lessons about when we were at our best. Even though the past is not our future, it is our past.
What can we learn?
We learn the BFC is unique. God has led us on a unique journey making us a unique church with a unique task. Only one denomination has ever made the journey we have made. We are not alone in making a journey since every denomination has its own journey. Only our denomination has made our journey. We started as a few people who burned with evangelistic zeal. Our forefathers and foremothers did not look to make a name and did not even think about being a church. God has led from that handful of people. They loved the Lord Jesus and wanted to obey him from the pit of their hearts. They were willing to listen to His word and change when they thought they were wrong. They recognized their faults and looked for ways to improve. God changed us as our journey progressed. As a result, our church is part of God’s plan and work in this world. God has led us to an understanding of His word and to expectations that lead us to take what God has given us and what He has made us to the world. The world will be different for it.
We learn who we are. The adult was a child once. The child grew. The adult was in the child and the child is in the adult. When adults want to understand who they are, part of the understanding is in the memories of the child. There were events and people who shaped the child and formed the adult. It is no less true for our church. We are changing. What we are becoming is formed from what we were. Why were we so committed to preaching the gospel? Why did we return again and again to the Bible to receive its direction? Why were we obsessed with organization and record keeping? Why was loyalty the great virtue? How does who we were shape what we will be? How does what we were hold us back from our future? What are the strengths that we must not abandon as the processes of change continue?
The Historical Committee believes these lessons are crucial. Learning to understand our strengths and weaknesses is a vital exercise as we face the changes that inevitably come to a people who want to follow God and know that the past is not our future. We are committed to our task of preserving the past believing that we are helping to shape the future.
The routine work of collecting and cataloguing continues. In recent years, the numbers of acquisitions has declined. We believe that many significant documents, records and photographs are still laying around which need to be placed in the archives. We encourage our churches and individuals with important historical material to place them in the archives for preservation and safekeeping. Recently, some very special and unique photographs were given to archives. They were rescued from a pile of material destined for a trash heap. In this case, we appreciate that someone saw their value and protected them. How many more records, documents and photographs will wind up in a land fill? You can help by assuring that historical materials are protected by routing them to the archives where they will be protected.
Our on-line library continues to grow with additions being made on a regular basis. Past minutes, study papers, statistics and other helpful materials are available at our website, bfchistory.org.
The Historical Society was hosted this year by the Fleetwood Church. Jim Mortland from the Fleetwood Church made a presentation entitled, “130 Years in Fleetwood.” Jill Davidson, vice-president of the society who is a member of the Graterford Church, read a paper entitled, “A Feather in Your Cap: Legalism in the MBC / BFC.”
Next year’s meeting of the Historical Society will be held at Wallingford, PA, on October 27, 2007. Presentations will be made on the history of the Wallingford Church and former Pastor E. N. Cassel and his role in the evolution of our doctrinal positions.
Historical Committee: Jill Davidson, Chairperson; Richard E. Taylor, Secretary, Archivist; James A. Beil, Carl C. Cassel, Harold P. Shelly, and Robert W. Smock.
Historical Society
Financial Report
January 1 – December 31, 2006
[not included here]