THE HISTORY OF OUR DENOMINATION IN THE U.S.

            During its 200 plus years of existence, Beck’s U.C.C. has been a member of three denominations.  From its beginnings until 1934, Beck’s was a German Reformed congregation; from 1934 until 1961, an Evangelical and Reformed church; and, since 1961 in union with the Congregational and Christian Church as the United Church of Christ.

                The German Reformed Church in America dates from the earliest settlers who emigrated from southern Germany as a result of Catholic oppression, continuous war, and persistent poverty.  The first sizable settlement of German Reformeds was in Eastern Pa. between 1710 and 1720.  Pastors were virtually non-existent for the first settlers and the first recorded communion was administered by a school teacher, Phillip Bochm.  This occurred Oct. 15^th, 1725 at Falkner Swamp Church in the Schuylkill Valley north of Philadelphia .  It is considered the oldest German Reformed church still in existence in the United States .

            In 1747, the first Reformed Synod in America was formed by the Rev. Michael Schlatter.  Involved in the formation of this Synod were 4 Pastors and 27 Elders representing 12 churches.  Reverend Schlatter traveled through Pennsylvania , Maryland , and Virginia organizing churches.  A 1752 report enumerated 30,000 Reformed members from 46 congregations with but 6 ministers in the three state area.

            Around this same time, during the 1750’s, Reformed settlers began moving southward through the Shenandoah Valley into Virginia and North Carolina .  In these areas, a lack of pastoral leadership caused the slow organization of congregations.  Worship services were occasionally led by Moravian missionaries but more often by lay leaders.  By 1790, however, most of the German Reformed churches had been organized under the leadership of Rev. Samuel Suther and Rev. Jacob Schneider.  In 1793 the American churches felt confident enough of their ability to sustain their member congregations by forming their first independent synod called “Synod of the Reformed German Church in the U.S.A. ”.  Prior to that, Reformed congregations had been supervised by “The Synods of Holland”.

            The first Reformed institution of higher learning, Franklin College , was chartered March 10, 1787 in Lancaster , PA.   Today it is known as “ Franklin & Marshall College ”.  The first Reformed Seminary was begun March 11, 1825 in Carlisle , PA.   After several relocations, it was placed in Lancaster , PA in 1871 as “Lancaster Theological Seminary”.

            The time period from the 1790’s through the 1800’s was one marked by steady and continuous service.  Little seems to have happened to either hinder or spur on the growth of the Reformed Church.  A southern and northern split did occur just prior to the Civil War.  But unlike most denominations it was not a split caused by the slavery question, but by a theological dispute.

            During the 1920’s, discussions of merger with various denominations took place.  On June 26, 1934, the Reformed Church and The Evangelical Church of America united.  These two groups shared a common German background.  The Evangelical Church was brought to America by German immigrants who came after 1820.  It was created in Germany in 1817 when King Frederick III of Prussia proclaimed that there should be but one Protestant Church in Germany and thereby united the Reformed and Lutheran Churches of that country.  So, while the earliest German settlers to America had included both Lutheran and Reformed adherents, post-1820 immigrants were neither, but were Evangelicals.

            At the time of merger, 1934, the Reformed Church consisted of 1700 churches with 345,000 members and the Evangelical Church had 250,000 members.  From its inception the Evangelical and Reformed Church continued discussions of merger.  In 1957 a convention was held in Cleveland , Ohio to begin implementing union with the Congregational and Christian Church.  The process took several years and on July 4^th, 1961, the Constitution of the “United Church of Christ” was declared in operation.

            This new union was deemed significant because it brought together two groups with different forms of church government.  The Evangelical & Reformed church had more power vested in the synods while in the Congregational & Christian Church, the individual congregations were more autonomous.  A brief look at the background and origin of the Congregational Christian Church shows the difference.

            The Congregational Church traces its roots to the early Puritans and Pilgrims of New England.  These “separatists” felt that the church should be free of all outside control.  The Christian Church began as individual congregations separated from Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian groups because of unhappiness with church hierarchies.  Far-flung and loosely aligned, several of these congregations coincidentally chose the same name – “Christian” – for their church.  It grew into a national denomination by 1922 and sharing so many similarities with the Congregationalists, the Christian Church united with them in 1931.

            Today, the United Church of Christ, recognizing the heritage and traditions of its component denominations, emphasizes the freedom of the individual congregation while stressing cooperation within the whole church

Larry Younts

 THE EARLY HISTORY OF BECK’S CHURCH

Heritage Day Address Given by Larry Younts

Since Reverend Bonds asked me about six weeks ago to speak today, for the 195^th anniversary of Beck’s Church, I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching in local libraries and talking to local historians.  While engaged in this effort several facts quickly made themselves apparent to me.  The most troublesome was that there are just very few records existing that deal with the early history of Beck’s Church.  It is always possible that in the years to come records may be discovered which would shed more light on our history.  Often such records are found in the most unlikely places.  More likely, however, is the fact that there just were not any records kept in early times.  This is probable for a couple of reasons.  First, the earliest settlers had traveled long and far to arrive in this are and their primary concerns were buying land, establishing a home, and clearing land for farming.  There was no time for something as comparatively trivial as keeping records.  Second, in the early German settlements the ministers were the primary record keepers.

For years Beck’s was never served by a resident pastor but by missionaries who traveled over a large area trying to reach as many people as possible.  Not until 1787 did Beck’s Church have a resident minister and even then he was shared with the other congregations in what is now Davidson County .  In fact much of the information that does exist about the early church deals with the efforts to obtain and to keep a regular minister.

A second conclusion I arrived at in my research was that it is impossible to talk about the early history of Beck’s Church without talking about the Lutheran and the Reformed Churches.  During the first century of our history Beck’s was truly a “union” church.  This is a characteristic that is common to most of the German settlements in this area and there is a good reason for it.  Basically the beliefs of the two groups are much the same, with the exception of how they viewed the sacraments of communion.  In fact, this was generally the point that kept the two sects from totally uniting in early days.  When you consider how the early settlers were so intermarried and primarily concerned with getting on with life, it is easy to see why they pooled their resources and worshipped as one.  In fact, it wasn’t until internal dissension began within the Lutheran congregation around 1820 that the Reformeds and Lutherans began following more distinctly separate paths.

Despite the lack of a great deal of information about the early church, it is still possible to draw a fair picture of our early history.  This is done by taking a close look at what records we do have.  These include early land records, a book of records of infant baptisms and communion lists which dates from 1803 – 1841, two letters from an early minister to his church elders in Germany, and perhaps most importantly, the tradition of our ancestors – the German immigrants who first settled along Abbotts Creek and Pounder’s Fork and founded Beck’s Church.  Theirs is an interesting story and begins in Germany – chiefly the southern portion of Germany bordering the Rhine River and the Swiss and Austrian Alps.  Many of the people of this area became Lutheran and Reformed Church members after the Protestant Reformation following such leaders as Martin Luther, John Hus, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli – the founder of the German Reformed Church.  In the century following the Reformation, a series of religious wars left this are of Germany desolated and life there became intolerable.  Land agents for the British monarchy saw in these suffering people a chance to populate their American colonies.  William Penn who owned what is now the state of Pennsylvania offered the heartiest and freest invitations.  As a result thousands of people left by way of the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and took passage across the Atlantic Ocean, landing at Philadelphia .  This migration began as early as 1690 and reached its peak in the years from 1727 to 1775.  The state Archives of Pennsylvania list the names of more than 30,000 persons who landed in Philadelphia .  Among them we find many of the names of the first settlers of Beck’s Church.

            This migration quickly gobbled up the most desirable lands and drove up the price of land.  At this time land agents for Lord Granville and Henry McCulloch, who owned most of what is now North and South Carolina, began offering these immigrants cheaper land, warmer climate, fertile soil and other promised in order to get them to come south to North Carolina.  Our ancestors then began the trek down the “ Great Wagon Road ” through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia into the Piedmont – a distance of some 435 miles.  These Germans covered roughly the area from Alamance County   westward to Gaston and Catawba Counties .

            Those who settled in this section of Davidson County were deeded land from Mr. Henry McCulloch (an Englishman) from his parcel of land known as Grant #9.  Mr. Henry Reeves of Lexington has mapped out many of these original deeds in very accurate detail.  From his mapping we find the first landowners in the Beck’s Church area as being William Frank, Devault Beck, John Billings, Frederick Goss, David Schmitt, George Miller, Peter Hedrick, Jacob Rickard, Leonard Kern, George Burkhart, and Henry Lookabill – all names with close ties to Beck’s Church and the area.  There are also names which, while early associated with Beck’s Church, no longer exist in this area.  Names such as James Scrivener, John Weagle, Ludwig Winkler, John Clafer, Anthony Moser, Conrad Yost, and Phillip Hoffman.  These families evidently either died out or more likely moved elsewhere.  The deeds which these men obtained are generally dated in the 1750’s and 1760, while the deed for Beck’s Church was not made until 1787.  Given the religious nature of these early settlers, it doesn’t seem possible that they arrived here in, say 1760, and waited 27 years to begin a church.  The fact is, that even though we celebrate 1787 as the date of origin for Beck’s Church, we are much older than that.  Mr. Reeves’ map shows the 53 acres that was deeded in 1787 to have been in earlier times “vacant land”.  That is – a piece of undeeded land surrounded on all sides by land that was claimed – undoubtedly set aside as a place of worship.  An examination of land records makes this clearer.  In 1777 all vacant lands owned by Henry McCulloch were confiscated by the State of North Carolina as a result of the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  Since Mr. McCulloch was a British subject his land was taken.  If, as we assume, this land was already serving as a place of worship, why then had it not been deeded as such?  My view is that some sort of arrangement must have been made between McCulloch and church elders.  It is a historical fact that English government officials, particularly Governor William Tryon, had been attempting to coerce the German settlers to join the Church of England.  Perhaps such a withholding of land was part of a plan to force this action.  This is purely speculation but in light of the struggles that occurred between Governor Tryon and the settlers of the western section of North Carolina , it seems quite possible.  Particularly so, because in 1779 an entry was made by Frederick Goss, John Billings, and Peter Hedrick of 50 acres on the waters of Pounder’s Fork so as to include a church belonging to the Lutherans and Calvinists, in company.  It seems from this that church elders, once out from under the thumb of British suppression, were quick to claim this land for the church.  Again, this may not have been the case, but it is the feeling I get from studying the situation.

            In any case, this entry of 1779 was not acted upon as the North Carolina State land office was not functional until after the end of the Revolution in 1783.  In 1784 we find this church land being granted to David Smith (Schmitt) and Dr. John Billings as a state grant in their names.  This was obviously done with the intent of turning it over to the church.  On November 5, 1787 the deed which symbolized the origin of Beck’s Church was made.  David Smith died in May, 1787 so his heirs and Dr. Billings deeded their state grant to Martin Frank and Frederick Billings of the “Profession of the Church of England” and to David Smith, Jr. and Henry Lookabill of the “Dutch Settlement on Abbotts Creek”.  These unusual titles undoubtedly resulted from language barriers between the German settlers and English speaking government officials.  They evidently gathered from their contact that the Lutherans were somewhat similar to the Church of England and that the other denomination was representative of the Dutch settlements in the Abbotts Creek section.  The use of the word Dutch evidently stems from the fact that in the German language, German is “Deutsch”, because our ancestors were not Dutch but were without question German.  The deed also included a meetinghouse and burial grounds proving beyond a doubt the prior existence of a church.

            So, a study of land records does show that we as a church are already over 200 years old.  This would seem then to make invalid our approaching Bicentennial celebration, but this really should not be the case.  Nov. 5, 1787 represents a firm beginning for Beck’s Reformed Church for two interrelated reasons.  It was the first time that trustees were named for a Reformed congregation, giving a base of strength and insuring continuity.  1787 was also the beginning of the ministry of the Rev. Jacob Schneider.  He was the first resident Reformed minister to serve Beck’s Church, that is he lived in the area and served only area churches.  He is credited with organizing Beck’s Church as well as Bethany and Beulah Reformed Churches.  It is probable that he was instrumental in getting the church elders to name trustees and to have their land formally deeded.  We could easily find some earlier date, such as an infant baptism or marriage record, and point to this as our date of origin but this would be historically weak.  Nov. 5, 1787 is a firm, concrete date and we should be proud of such an origin while at the same time realizing that the roots of our Church do go somewhat deeper.

            Another interesting point of speculation is how we came to be known as Beck’s Church and not Hedrick’s Church, Miller’s Church, Frank’s church or after some other early family.  Generally the earliest churches were named for either a prominent member or for someone who either gave land for the church or lived next to it.  For instance, Pilgrim was originally known as Leonard’s Church, Emmanuel was called Bowers’ MeetingHouse and Beulah was named Sower’s Church.  It seems that our church came to be called Beck’s for a couple of reasons.  The first settler with this name was probably Devault Beck who owned a farm on Abbotts Creek and another farm along Pounder’s Fork which bordered the church property.  It is possible that Devault Beck gave the original 53 acres for the church but it seems more likely that the early church was know for its location – as the church next to Mr. Beck’s.  After time, this could have been simply shortened to Beck’s Church.  Another possibility is that it was named in honor of either Devault Beck or his son, John.  John Beck was one of four known sons of Devault.  They were Phillip, Jacob, George, and John.  Phillip and Jacob moved to the Churchland area after the Revolution and George, the youngest son, moved to Indiana around 1800.  John remained here and inherited the lands bordering the church.  He seems to have become one of the more prominent leaders of the church.  He was listed as an elder in the Lutheran congregation in 1787 along with William Frank and Leonard Kern.  In the earliest records of baptisms, he is listed over and over again as sponsor or godfather.  He had a very large family of seven sons, five daughters and 81 grandchildren.  Assorted records through the 1800’s show his grandchildren and great-grandchildren to also have been church leaders.  Some of these were David and Daniel Beck; David, Daniel, Henry, Obadiah, and Washington Swing; and Solomon, Daniel, and Jefferson Hedrick.  So it does seem highly possible that our church could have been named in honor of John Beck.

            I have spent quite a bit of time working on the descendants of John Beck’s son-in-law, Barnhardt Swing, who moved tot he Beck’s Church area from Guilford County around 1810.  I’ve found that nearly all of the present members of Beck’s Church are descended from this man.  With a little research, we would find the same thing to be true of other early church leaders such as Capt. Peter Hedrick, William Frank, George Miller, and David Smith.  This fact represents over 200 years of continuity within the Reformed Church, of which, we should all be proud.

            Probably the most interesting piece of information available to us are two letters from an early pastor – the Rev. Arnold Roschen.  They deal with the habits and customs of the early settlers in this area.  Rev. Roschen was a Lutheran minister sent to America by his Church Elders in Germany .  His first letter was written in 1789 and the second in 1790.  They detail his arrival in America and proceed to detail what life was like in that time.  Rev. Roschen served the churches in Davidson County and it is believed that his home was in the vicinity of Beck’s.  So, when he talks about his congregations, we can gather some ideas of what our ancestors were like.  My own view from reading these letters is that even though conditions were much different 200 years ago the basic nature of the people hasn’t really changed that much.  I would like to close by reading excerpts from these letters:

This letter is headed as follows:

“On Abbotts Creek in the midst of the forests of North America, 60 miles from the Blue Ridge Mountains and 18 miles from Salem.”

            “upon our arrival on Abbotts Creek the elders of the three charges came to visit us.  A fourth charge, which has now become almost the largest one, was added to our circuit, and consequently I am now the pastor of these four congregations.  Flour, corn, hams, sausages, dried fruits, chickens and turkey, geese, etc. were abundantly furnished from all quarters.  In fact, we have up to the present time not paid out a cent in our household for such things.”

            “During the first four weeks, when I began counting the money that came in as my salary, I found that it was based on a fixed sum of 70 pounds in metal money annually, which amounts to about twice that amount in paper money.  The extras here are rather high:  a marriage fee without address, likewise for a funeral address, one Spanish Thaler; for the confirmation of a child, likewise a Spanish Thaler.  This latter is of considerable importance.  From the central charge I confirmed 24, from the charge along the Yadkin about 12, and in the case of the other, I still have the task before me.

            “Funerals take place in the following manner:  If the church is too far removed the dead are buried at their home, occasionally also at the home of a good neighbor where then gradually a sort of a churchyard is formed.  If, however, as is usually the case, they are brought to the church, the coffin is at first placed before the front door of the house.  At the foot of the corpse stands the preacher, and around the coffin on all sides, the congregation.  No invitations to a funeral are sent out.  Everybody considers it his duty to come, and indeed on horseback.  Then the preacher has a song, or at least a few verses sung, after which he gives a short address of about eight to ten mins.  Meanwhile, the lid of the coffin is removed and the women crowd around uttering a pitiful wail.  Then the pastor orders the coffin closed and placed in a wagon while the people mount their horses.  Thus, after refreshments of bread and rum at the house of the deceased, the procession moves to the church.  Upon arriving at the church the pastor commands a halt, to corpse is let down from the wagon, a few verses are sung, the coffin is again opened, and while singing the crowd marches two by two to the grave.  After the body has been lowered a silent prayer is offered and the grave is filled during the singing of a song.  Then, still continuing their chant, they betake themselves to the church where the funeral sermon is given from the pulpit.”

            “Marriages here are of two varieties.  The one, according to the church discipline, calls for three successive announcements of the banns.  In the case of the other, which occurs with equal frequency, the procedure is in general as follows:  the groom secures a certificate from the Superior Officer at Salisbury , comes riding along with his friends of both sexes, the bride riding by his side, to the pastor, or if none is available, to the Justice where the ceremony is performed.  He enters holding in his right hand his flask of rum, greets with a “good morning”, drinks to the health of the one officiating, produces his certificate and then goes back to the bride and the rest of the party.  The questions directed to the groom are:  whether he has stolen his bride – which occurs frequently – and whether the parents have given their consent.  If one steals his bride and has a license from Salisbury the objections of the parents are of no avail as a rule in this country the son, as soon as he has reached his 21^st year, and the daughter as soon as she is 18 years old, no longer stand under the control of their parents.  In case of marriages, which by the way are often contracted very early in life, provision for the future need not by any great cause for worry.  Whoever is willing to work can easily obtain a plantation and poor people generally are not seen here at all.  These marriage unions are very fruitful.  Thirteen or fourteen children, which usually all live, are not infrequent in these families.  I, myself, know one planter here who has 23 children all by one wife, and with two exceptions all are healthy and strong.  Still, on the other hand, I have found that in families of such large numbers, frequently one is feeble-minded.”

            “This last spring, I had in my central congregation 24 to be confirmed, whom I had instructed for seven weeks, meeting them three days in the week.  This class consisted partly of married men and women up to the age of thirty, and partly of younger people ranging from sixteen to twenty years in age.  We meet in the church.  To a European such a meeting must seem quite unusual.  All are very quiet, well behaved and attentive.  Most striking for me was that the mothers, when they came for their instruction, brought their babies with them, and when the latter became restless proceeded without ceremony to nurse them, without, however, allowing this to detract from their attention or to delay their answering to my questions.  Among the things to be especially emphasized for the younger people before this confirmation was the admonishment not to contract any marriages with the English or Irish.  And even though this may seem unreasonable to a European, it is in this region a very important matter.  For in the first place, the Irish in this region are lazy, dissipated, and poor, live in the most wretched huts and enjoy the same food as their animals, (although in the cities this situation is reversed).  In the second place, it is very seldom that German and English blood is happily united in wedlock.  Dissensions and feeble children are often the result.  The English wife will not permit her husband to be the master in his household, and when he likewise insists upon his rights, crime and murder ensue.  In the third place, the English of this region do not adhere to any definite religion, do not have their children christened; nor do they send them to any school, but simply let them grow up like domestic animals.  Finally, we owe it to our native country to do our part that German blood and the German language be preserved and more and more disseminated in America , for which the present indications in this region are very favorable.”

            “The following anecdote might serve to illustrate what I have just said:

            “Recently reverend Mr. Storch and I were walking past the city hall in Salisbury when a man was brought to the whipping-post.  A German called to me to remain a moment in order to see how the Americans treated their rascals and thieves.  To my question; ‘He is certainly not a German?’, I received the following answer, which is literally true: '‘s yet no German has ever been at the whipping-post nor was any German ever hanged in Salisbury.'’. . . Meanwhile the unfortunate mans was bound stripped of his clothes, and thoroughly flogged.  Then his ears were cut off and both cheeks branded with a hot iron!”

            “Most of the people here are quite contented on their plantations.  I recently visited one of my parishioners, and to my question as to how he was faring, I received the answer:  ‘If I were to complain God would have to punish us; we lack nothing necessary, and have considerable left for ourselves and for others; we are well, and everything on our plantation is in good order.  Since we already have a surplus so soon after the war, we will rapidly become wealthy, if God grants us peace.’

            “It is still a very prevalent belief here in this region that peace is not absolutely certain.  In fact, they are very poorly informed about public affairs in general.  That this should be the case is quite natural since they have not other needs here than those which the country and the community can satisfy.  Luxury is unknown here.  All the necessities are made at home, both utensils as well as clothing.  The women are quite experienced in the weaving and working of linen, and skilled in the utilization of wool, and especially of cotton, which thrives here unusually well, and indeed with very little effort.  Likewise, the women are very apt in the dyeing of wool.  A well-trained girl can consequently not be had for less than an annual wage of 32 Spanish Thalers.  The food is very simple, but they eat much meat.  The plantations consist for the greater part, of two hundred to three hundred acres.  However, there are some consisting of so many thousands.  One plantation adjoins the other.  Fifty to sixty acres are cleared and tilled an the rest constitute the great American forest . . . “

            “The church service I try to make as solemn as possible and as suitable to the occasion, but with all, as simple as possible.  I can however not restrict my discourse to three quarters of an hour; for there are many of my congregations who often ride as far as three German miles (18 miles) to church, and furthermore there is only one service every four weeks in each church.  Christenings take place after the sermon in presence of the entire congregation.  When the lord’s Supper is held on Sunday’s, the preparation for it occur on the preceding Fridays.  Private confessions are unknown here.  Public penance imposed by the church I have abolished . . . In Germany, for very good reasons, public church penances before communion was generally abolished.  Among other reasons, because it often gave occasion for child murder or brought contempt upon the child. . . I further urged that the necessary admonishment could in the case in hand, more effectively be administered in the presence of a few church members in a private home.  At once all were won over to my opinion.” . . .

            “With regard to my private affairs, I want you to know that already a considerable part of my plantation is paid for.  I have furthermore a horse, tow cows, on calf, thirteen dogs, six hogs, chickens, geese, ducks of three varieties, guineas, turkey, and pigeons . . . I can grow almost anything on my plantation that I desire; wheat, oats, tobacco, cotton, indigo, buckwheat, flax, hemp, maize.  Strawberries grow here in immense quantities, likewise mulberries, grapes, and chestnuts.  Almost all trees in the forest bear edible fruits.  A variety of tea grows wild here, which I prefer to all teas grown in the Orient.”

            “The sugar trees furnish some sugar.  Besides this there are peaches in great abundance on the plantations.  The finest that I ever saw before are nothing compared with these.  They grow in such abundance that they are used to fatten hogs.  Furthermore there are apples, pears, and cherries; and especially melons in great abundance and rich varieties . . .”

            “The young man and also the young woman, who are staying with us, are very respectable and obliging – quarrel and strife are not allowed under my roof, and beneath it I am absolute master.  Separated from people I have a very independent life on my plantation; free as the birds of the air.  I can rise in the morning and retire in the evening when I wish, excepting when my official duties interfere.  We grow almost everything we need, without expenses.  Our garden is one of the very best.  If you could supply us with some of the more rare varieties of seeds, such as cauliflowers, savoy, etc. we could be very obliged to you.  There is also no lack of beverages.  Only the wine is expensive.  I must pay 20 pence a quart; and that is of the very worst.  I drink cider and a beverage made of cider and spirits distilled from the juice of apples, which keeps as well as wine, suits my taste just as well, and in color, brilliancy, clearness surpasses even the white French wine.  The people here in general, however, drink much rum and other distilled wines which I do not like.  Good beer is also made here.  The water is healthful, at least on my plantation, on which I have five springs. . . “

            “In the German settlement much German is spoken; elsewhere all speak English.  Without this language no one can get along.  Even the Germans rather speak English than German.  During my stay in America I have already learned enough to read, write, and speak English, but I still prefer to speak German.  I perform marriage ceremonies in the English as well as the German.  My fixed salary has been considerably increased for this second year.  A good sign; but this is rather unusual here in America . . .”

            “Perhaps after a dozen years I shall see you again.  How rapidly they will pass!  I want to stay where I am, and will not be deluded, in order that my Fatherland may at some time again gladly receive me into its arms.  And then the consciousness of having served and the memory of these times will beautify the remainder of my life and give me peach and joy to my soul.”

From the reading of this letter we can easily see that the Beck’s Church community was in early times as it is now a wonderful place in which to live.

-         Larry Younts