Church of the Brethren historian

Donald F. Durnbaugh Donald F. Durnbaugh (1927–2005) was a noted historian of the Church of the Brethren who published more than 200 books, articles, reviews, and essays on its history. In the words of Dale Brown, with whom he taught at Bethany Theological Seminary ...

has described John Kline as "arguably the most beloved personality in Brethren History." Kline was born in Dauphin County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on 17 June 1797, the son of John Kline (1763–1844) and Mary Hershey Kline (1770–1850). While he was still a boy, the family moved to Rockingham County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. On 18 March 1818, before he was twenty-one, he married Anna Wampler (1796–1885), the daughter of John Wampler and Magdalene Garber Wampler. He bought a farm on

Linville Creek Linville may refer to: Places * Linville, Queensland, a town in the Somerset Region, Australia * Linville, North Carolina, United States * Linville Falls, North Carolina, United States Outdoor attractions in the United States * Linville Cavern ...

in what is now the town of Broadway, about five miles north of

Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. At the 2 ...

. He and his wife had only one child, a baby daughter, born on 15 March 1819, who did not live and was unnamed. At some point Kline joined the German Baptist Brethren church. In 1827, he was chosen to serve as deacon by the Linville Creek congregation of the church. He was "called" to the preaching ministry in 1830 and like other Brethren ministers of his day, he served without remuneration throughout his life. At first the Brethren met in members' home or barns or even in open fields, and Kline gave both land and money to build the Linville Creek German Baptist Brethren Church. He frequently traveled to southwest Virginia and to what is now West Virginia, preaching and baptizing and visiting Brethren families. Sometimes he was able to establish new congregations. ''The Brethren Encyclopedia'' says that "according to line'srecords, he may have covered as much as during his lifetime, mostly on horseback." Kline also studied and practiced the medical procedures of one Dr. Samuel Thompson of Vermont so that he could treat the sick as well as minister to people spiritually. At the 1861 Annual Meeting of the church, Kline was elected moderator, the highest elected office of the church, and he was re-elected in each of next three years. He opposed both slavery and war and when war came between North and South, he lobbied the Virginia legislature and other officials to help make it possible for the Brethren to honor their pacifist beliefs and their objection to participating in the military. He and his good friend and in-law Benjamin F. Moomaw of Botetourt County argued that Brethren farmers could be of more assistance to the Confederate cause by supplying the troops with food than they could by fighting. During the Civil War Kline crossed Union–Confederate lines to attend church meetings. He was able to obtain passes from both sides (though both were wary of him since he gave medical and spiritual help to both Union and Confederate troops). At one time, suspected of holding Union sympathies, he was imprisoned for two weeks in Virginia. On 15 June 1864, while returning from a trip north, he was ambushed and killed near his home by young Confederate sympathizers. His death was deeply mourned; he was widely regarded among his fellow Baptist Brethren as a wise counselor and a highly effective evangelist. For "Entries of Genealogical Interest, Extracted From ''Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary, Collated from his Diary'' by Benjamin Funk clic
here
Sappington, Roger Edwin. Courageous prophet, chapters from the life of John Kline. ( Elgin, Ill., Brethren Press

964 Year 964 ( CMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatoli ...

References

External links

John Kline Homestead
a nonprofit in Virginia which preserves Kline's house {{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, John (elder) 1797 births 1864 deaths American Protestant ministers and clergy American members of the Church of the Brethren Church of the Brethren clergy American evangelists 19th-century Anabaptist ministers 19th-century American clergy