| 15 South Mulberry Street Hagerstown, Maryland 21740 301-733-3565 |
| MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren is to celebrate the love of Jesus Christ and glorify the Lord by striving to live as Christ lived, experiencing the power of God's healing in our lives. We seek to nurture our faith community through prayer, music and the proclaimed Word, while enthusiastically reaching out to others with compassion, respect and love for everyone so that we may grow in faith and commitment together. VISION STATEMENT Journeying with Christ - Serving Our Neighbors - Uniting at the Master’s Table |
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| Unsung Brethren |
| All rights reserved. Used by permission. Permission to copy must be obtained from the author. |
| Daniel West was born – December 31st 1893 – in Preble County, Ohio. At the age of 11, he became a member of the Sugar Grove Church of the Brethren. After graduating from Pleasant Hill High School, Dan, feeling the hand of God on his life, traveled to Chicago and enrolled in Bethany Bible School. Later, he received a BA degree from Manchester College and in 1920, completed the work to receive a master’s degree from Cornell University. Between the years 1919 and 1928, West taught school in Ohio at Englewood, Pleasant Hill and Madison Township where he also served as principal. In his role as an educator, Dan encouraged young people to study hard and receive training as a means of serving the Lord. Daniel West married Lucille Sherck in 1932, and was blessed with four sons and a daughter. The West family lived in Ottawa, Kansas, Newville, Pennsylvania and on farms in Dunlap and Middleburg, Indiana. In September 1937, this compassionate Brethren journeyed to Spain to help establish a relief program to support both sides of the Spanish Civil War. While in Spain Dan observed the human suffering in a war-torn zone and alerted the church to develop such systems as an alternative to military service. Looking for a way to supply milk for starving children, West came up with an idea that developed into a program that is now known as "Heifer Project International.” A group of Brethren in Indiana supported the project by raising cattle to be sent overseas. With the church backing West, the first shipment of heifers went to Puerto Rico in 1944. A lifetime member of the Church of the Brethren’s General Brotherhood, West served on the Board of Christian Education, Brethren Service Commission and Christian Education Commission. He also stayed active training youth for Brethren Volunteer Service. Early in his career, Dan decided to serve the church as a lay leader rather than a minister – becoming the “first” lay moderator of Annual Conference in 1966. Two years later he was diagnosed with a form of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, resulting in the loss of his voice. Following an operation, he passed away January 7th, 1971. Today, the vision God gave Dan West years ago, known now as the “Beef Canning Project,” has provided food for countless thousands of hungry and disadvantaged around the world. “Therefore my beloved Brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the Word of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:58 |
| Dan West |
