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Greetings to all Brothers Andrew, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ!
The following brief history of The Brotherhood of St. Andrew
is designed to help a new chapter and individual brothers, to become familiar
with the background and some of the outstanding accomplishments of this Episcopal/Anglican
lay ministry-to-men.
The Brotherhood of St. Andrew began as a prayer and Bible study group of
young men led by a layman, Mr. James L. Houghteling, at St. James Episcopal Church,
Chicago. The Rector, the Rev. W. H. Vibbert, asked Mr. Houghteling to have his
group of twelve men work with a drunken man who had appealed to him for help.
At one of their meetings, this man suggested they call themselves a Brotherhood
of St. Andrew since they, like St. Andrew, were trying to reach out to their brothers
and bring them to Christ. Mr. Houghteling then asked permission of the Rector
to form a lay Brotherhood of St. Andrew to minister to men living in rooming houses
and hotels around the church. Permission was granted, and the first meeting of
The Brotherhood of St. Andrew was held on St. Andrew's Day, 1883, in a basement
meeting room (now St. Andrew's Chapel) at St. James Cathedral.
Let us
now look at some of the accomplishments which have been made as a result of the
foresight and calling of these few founding brothers.
In the first year,
the Brothers Andrew ministered to hundreds of men who participated in the prayer
and Bible study. They also worked with a group of 40 men who, after being taught
the elements of faith, were brought to the bishop for Confirmation. Sunday morning
worship services at St. James saw nearly two hundred men coming from rooming houses
and hotels at the invitation of the Brothers Andrew who, before and between services,
would go into the streets actively seeking out men and inviting them to church.
The brotherhood began putting Bibles in rooming houses and hotels around the church,
nearly 25 years before the Gideons began their work in hotels. As word of the
tremendous success of this lay ministry spread other Brotherhood chapters where
formed in Episcopal Churches in the area.
In 1886 the Brotherhood introduced
a new program which was adopted by the Episcopal Church as the Lay Readers Program.
This program was an evangelistic outreach designed to establish Episcopal Mission
Churches in small developing communities around Chicago. Brotherhood lay Readers
would conduct services of Morning and Evening Prayer. Between the two services
they conducted Church School programs for children, and Bible studies for adults.
By 1886, when the General Convention of the Episcopal Church was held in
Chicago, almost one hundred Brotherhood chapters had been formed in the USA and
a few in Canada. Coincidental with this convention, a call went out from the original
Chicago Brotherhood of St. Andrew chapter to all the other Brotherhood chapters
to come to Chicago for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. This resulted
in the first convention of The Brotherhood of St. Andrew. As a result, the first
governing body was established, and all existing Brotherhoods became chapters
of the central organization. Now with a central headquarters, the General Council
and Presiding Officers, responsibility was established for extending the ministry
of the Brotherhood throughout the Episcopal and Anglican Communion. Individual
chapters would attend to their parish-wide ministries.
The missionary
zeal and evangelical thrust of The Brotherhood of St. Andrew excited the entire
Church, resulting in an increase of over 100% in church membership and an increase
of over 50% in the number of churches and missions.
By 1900 the ministry was flourishing with a membership of over 15,000 in 1000
chapters in 17 countries. In 1908, an Act for the Incorporation of The Brotherhood
of St. Andrew was passed and signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt.
Section 2 of this Act clearly states, "That the sole object of said corporation
shall be the spread of Christ's Kingdom among men."
The official
history of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines notes that it was begun by
The Brotherhood of St. Andrew. The Church in Japan was also helped immeasurably
over the years by the Brotherhood.
From 1883 through
the 1930s, The Brotherhood of St. Andrew was considered the evangelistic arm of
the Church, and it was heavily involved in every aspect of lay ministry. Brothers
Andrew traveled the US and overseas, mostly at their own expense, spreading this
ministry-to-men. Where the Brotherhood was established, they encouraged chapters
to become involved in starting hundreds of new Mission Churches through the Lay
Reader Program.
From the very beginning, The Brotherhood of St. Andrew
had a sincere concern for the young men of the church, by establishing a Youth
Department. Early St. Andrew's Cross magazines show reports from the Youth Department
leaders indicating meetings of the Senior and Youth Brotherhoods on a national
level together.
One of the most significant undertakings by The Brotherhood
of St. Andrew occurred in 1917 when it organized the Brotherhood's Army and Navy
Department to minister to Episcopal men in the US Armed Forces that did not have
a chaplaincy Corps. The backbone of this outstanding ministry was eighty two Field
Secretaries who served voluntarily at army and navy bases. Military and Field
Secretary records show that 91,000 men were served in some way, and 10,000 copies
of St. Andrew's Cross magazine were sent to servicemen each month.
During
the 1920s, the Brotherhood established many training camps for young men across
the USA. All offered supervised programs where aside from exercise and good food,
young men were taught the elements of the Christian faith, theology of the Episcopal/Anglican
Churches, our Anglican heritage, and to grow up with a commitment to serve Jesus
Christ. The camps were operated by Assemblies or individual chapters of the Brotherhood.
During the 1920s and 30s the Brotherhood continued its work with training
camps; the armed forces around the world; establishing new missions, and creating
new chapters. It prepared and printed a series of "How To" booklets
outlining training procedures for Lay Readers. Acolytes, Youth Groups, Bible Studies,
and Evangelism group leaders. Both the Church and the Brotherhood grew as a result
of these efforts.
With the declaration of WW II, The Brotherhood of St.
Andrew began to grow, after a decline during the depression years, as great efforts
were made to minister to servicemen.
Following the war, and for the next
decade, membership stagnated and although there were sincere efforts to help it
grow, these resulted in only a remnant maintaining this ministry-to-men. A hard-working
and determined Brother Andrew, Lt. Col. Paul Rusch, returned to Japan following
the war where with the support of the Brotherhood, the US Army and the Church,
he organized the Kiyosato Educational Experiment project (KEEP) within sight of
Mt. Fuji. This project includes St. Andrew's Church, a hospital, classroom building,
dormitory, and a fully equipped farm, all on 120 acres of land. many business
men in Japan today obtained their early education at KEEP, and with the help of
the Brotherhood, came to the USA to complete their university education. The enthusiasm
in learning of the ministry of The Brotherhood of St. Andrew in other parts of
the world and Japan, plus his own commitment, drive, perseverance and leading
of the Holy Spirit, led Paul Rusch to develop an educational ministry that has
reached thousands of young Japanese men. It now has its own support base known
as the American Committee For KEEP, Inc., in Evanston, Illinois, as well as a
similar committee in Japan itself.
The Korean Conflict in the 1950s caused
a surge of interest in the Brotherhood once again. A chapter of the Brotherhood
was formed in Seoul, Korea in 1969 due to the interest of GIs. Brothers who were
previously stationed there.
During the 1950s and 60s the youth chapters,
referred to as junior chapters, began to fade out as TV became the center of interest
to the whole family unit. Church membership stabilized, and its percentage of
the general population dropped. Secular education successfully attempted to become
the center of social activity, and all Christian denominations suffered a decline
in church membership and attendance. The erosion of the Church hit bottom about
the time the "God Is Dead" concept was offered as the reason for the
apparent fall of the Church. The Brotherhood's membership and problems paralleled
those of the Church. In North America it became, what some called, "the old
men's club", and it died out completely in most countries overseas.
It
was realized that the Episcopal Church was suffering the same lapse as the Brotherhood
- it needed to be revitalized, so the Christian renewal program known as "FAITH
ALIVE" was created by The Brotherhood of St. Andrew under the leadership
of our past national president, Fred Gore, in February, 1970. The founding of
this very significant ministry was the impetus that became the renewal movement
in the Episcopal Church. It spread to at least seven other mainline denominations,
including the Roman Catholic Church after the program separated from the Brotherhood
to enable it to reach out beyond the limited scope of the Brotherhood's Anglican
ministry-to-men.
In 1972, with the efforts of a group of lay people,
including members of The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, the program PEWSaction (an
acronym for Prayer, Evangelism, Service in Action), was born. Its intent was and
is, to have all renewal groups in the Church make a combined witness to the Church
at General Convention by bringing their display booths into one area. This was
effective and had a tremendous impact on the renewal movement.
Since 1979 there has been continual
growth in numbers of members and chapters. The St. Andrew's Cross magazine is
now one of the Church's outstanding periodicals. While it is committed to the
"spread of Christ's Kingdom among men and youth", its articles dealing
with the Brotherhood's disciplines of Prayer, Study and Service can be helpful
to any person wanting to grow in the Christian faith.
The ministries
of the Brotherhood are a blend of Christian work carried out locally, through
the efforts of individual chapters, and in foreign countries, directed by the
Brotherhood's National Office, in cooperation with Anglican bishops in dioceses
around the world.
IIn 1981, it was
decided to send $ 1,200 to a publisher in Kenya toward the purchase of prayer
books in the native tongues for use in Uganda. As a fall-out of this project,
a program in Baale, Uganda was incorporated by the brotherhood. This program was
designed to teach improved farming techniques and other trades to enable people
to build up an independent economy. It was suggested that $ 6,000 be used by HOPE
International to repair St Andrew's Chapel at the teaching farm and that the project
be used as a starting point for a continued Brotherhood ministry called the Baale
Farm project with brotherhood funds used to build a pastor's house and later an
Orphans residence
The success of the Baale Project is one example of
how the work and mission of the Brotherhood is carried out overseas. There are
hundreds of examples of the Brotherhood's work here in the US . . . . as many
examples as there are chapters.
Across the country Brothers Andrew maintain
apartments for low income families, sponsor and work with Troops of Boy Scouts,
visit teenagers and men serving time in prisons. At one Texas facility, inmates
converted to Christ and organized a prison chapter of the Brotherhood for fellowship
and Bible study. Other Brotherhood chapters organize visits to the elderly and
shut-ins, help in programs to feed the hungry, run prayer groups, etc. In many
other ways the Brotherhood members work in partnership with parish priests to
extend Christ's invitation to become part of His Family.
As was mentioned
at the beginning of this brief history of The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, it was
designed to help new Brothers and Chapters become familiar with some of the outstanding
accomplishments of this ministry-to-men in the Episcopal and Anglican Churches.
By no means, does it cover all of the work of the Brotherhood, especially internationally,
since now we have chapters in Uganda, Ghana, Chile, Ukraine, Philippines, Japan
and Canada, nor that accomplished by the hundreds of thousands of individual Brothers
Andrew who gave so tirelessly of their time, talent and money to make this ministry-to-men
and youth possible.
Years after the founding of that first Brotherhood
of St. Andrew Chapter, James Houghteling observed, "God stirred up the wills
of the little company, that dozen insignificant folk, so that they started out
to do something". . . . and didn't they though!
May the grace of
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all as you labor in His Vineyard
for the "spread of Christ's Kingdom among men and youth". Amen.
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