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By Melisssa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

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Celebrating Communion Nov. 17, Bishop Marcus Matthewsraised the simple, historic silver chalice of Bishop William Otterbein. It was an act of remembrance and a reclaiming of the history of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, who shaped today’s United Methodist Church.

The United Brethren Church, one of the precursors of The United Methodist Church, was the first uniquely homegrown American church. The denomination was founded by Bishop Philip Wilhelm Otterbein in 1800 in Frederick, Md. Otterbein died 200 years ago this past Nov. 17.

In Baltimore, the anniversary of his death day was observed in the churchyard of the church that bears his name and where Otterbein is buried. It was a day for remembrance, gratitude and “claiming the living hope given to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “ said Bishop Marcus Matthews., resident bishop of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

“Our lives become the stars that others steer by,” said Matthews, reflecting on Otterbein’s legacy and  the inheritance of all people of faith.

In those reflections, Matthews joined the Rev. Emora Brannan, chair of the conference’s Commission on Archives and History; the Rev. Donald Burgard, pastor of Old Otterbein; and the Rev. Wilson Shearer, who has a passion for church history, especially the history of the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) Church.

These leaders, along with the congregation and several guests, worshipped together and then placed a wreath at Otterbein’s grave, which now has a footstone noting the 200th anniversary observance.

Shearer, wearing an EUB preacher’s hat that belonged to his father, shared biographical information about William Otterbein. The bishop, he said, citing Henry Boehm’s “Reminiscences,” was “tall, being six feet high, with a noble frame and a commanding appearance. He had a thoughtful, open countenance, full of benignity, a dark-blue eye that was very expressive.  ... He had a high forehead , a double chin, with a beautiful dimple in the center. His locks were grey, his dress parsonic.”

Otterbein was born in Dillenburg, Germany, a twin and one of 10 children. He was ordained into the German Reformed Church in 1749 and three years later emmigrated to Lancaster, Pa., where he became a circuit rider, traveling the region, even coming into Maryland, to conduct class and meetings and open-air worship.

In 1767, during a camp meeting, Martin Boehm, a Mennonite preacher, told his salvation story. Otterbein rose from his seat, embraced Boehm and declared in his native German, “Wir sind bruder,” or “We are brethren.”

Otterbein was known as a preacher of great evangelistic zeal, even to the extent that he was barred from many church pulpits and he was forced to preach outdoors in groves of trees, barns or church yards. His sermons, some historians say, reminded the baptized that membership is more than ink on a church register.

In 1774, Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury persuaded Otterbein to be pastor of a church in Baltimore. In 1785, the present church structure, at which Otterbein is buried, was built. It became “the mother church” of the United Brethren in Christ, and today is the oldest church sanctuary in continuous use in Baltimore and the only extant eighteenth century church in the city.

Otterbein served as pastor of this church for 39 years. He died at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1813. He was 87.

Otterbein’s last words, Shearer reported, were labored: “Jesus – Jesus – I die; but thou livest, and soon shall I live with thee – the conflict is over and past – I begin to feel an unspeakable fullness of love and peace divine, – lay my head on my pillow, and be still.”

A few months after his death, Asbury eulogized his friend. “Forty years I have a known the retiring modesty of this man of God; towering majestic above his fellows in learning, wisdom and grace, yet seeking to be known only of God and the people of God.”