1910–Present
Location
3337 US Highway 11E, Telford, TN
History
Progressive Brethren Church
The Progressive Brethren Church of Limestone, Tennessee, was organized on December 14, 1910. The person responsible for the organization of the church was Mr. S. D. Arnold; and the headquarters of the Progressive Brethren Church was in Ashland, Ohio.
Limestone, Tennessee
Vernon Brethren Church in the early 1940s
Picture courtesy of Mary Edith Broyles
The first church was built and dedicated in the summer of 1913 and was given the name Vernon, meaning “evergreen, ever living.”
In 1938-1939 the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches, with headquarters in Winona Lake, Indiana, developed from struggles within the Progressive Brethren Churches during the 1920’s and 1930’s.
By the mid 1950’s, the Limestone church building had become inadequate, and a building program was launched. Four acres of land on Highway 11 -E were purchased, and there was a groundbreaking for the new church on April 4, 1960. The church was completed, and dedication services were held April 30, 1961.
Data from the cemetery may be found in the Vernon Church of the Brethren Cemetery
Grace Brethren Church
On October 18, 1978, the Limestone church voted to change the name from Vernon Brethren to Grace Brethren. The address of the new location was Telford rather than Limestone. Thus, the Vernon Brethren Church of Limestone, Tennessee, became the Grace Brethren Church of Telford, Tennessee.
In 1992, due to doctrinal disagreements among the Grace Brethren Churches, a new fellowship was formed. The Telford church is a charter member of this fellowship which is known as Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International with headquarters in Mansfield, Ohio.
At the present time the Telford church has some 100 active members. In addition to the church building, there is an annex containing offices, library, and Sunday school rooms; and an education and recreation building is in the final stages of completion.
Members
The seventeen charter members were the Rev. Elkanah Gray, Mr. and Mrs. T. M. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Arnold, Mr. Dobson Arnold, Miss Lelia Arnold, Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Cartwright, Mr. Buford Smith, Miss Ellen Skinnell, Mrs. Julia Mongold, Mrs. Ellen Yeager, Miss Edith Cartwright, Miss Mary Pence, Miss Molly Farris, and Miss Lula Mongold.
Pastors
Pastors of the church include:
| Thomas Allen | 1912–1912 | Randall L. Rossman | 1951–1953 |
| D. C. Moomaw | 1914–1915 | A. Harold Arrington | 1954–1957 |
| Willis E. Ronk | 1915–1917 | Clarence Lackey | 1957–1961 |
| Miss Mary Pence | 1919–1928 | Lester W. Kennedy | 1961–1966 |
| Rev. Hill Maconaghy | 1931–1935 | Quentin L. Matthes | 1966–1969 |
| Raymond Blood | 1935–1937 | David W. Farrier | 1969–1977 |
| Walter J. Lewis | 1937–1942 | A. David Mitchell | 1977–1984 |
| Henry Rempel | 1942–1943 | D. Michael Wingfield | 1984–1997 |
| Raymond H. Kettell | 1943–1947 | Rev. Robert Skeen | 1997– |
| Earle E. Peer | 1947–1951 |
Submitted by Mary M. Kyker, 579 McInturff Rd., Telford, TN 37690-2446. Posted 29 May 2005