"The Centennial"
Summit Mills Church of the Brethren
1846-1946

The Summit Mills Church of the Brethren is now 100 years old, second oldest church in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. (The Church at Berlin, Pa., called the Grove Church was built in 1845). The Summit Mills Church was built in 1846 by Samuel Miller (born June 26, 1799, died June 7, 1851). He is buried in the Lichty Cemetery where one may see his grave today.

Samuel Miller was an uncle to Elder Joel C. Gnagey, and a great-great uncle to Mrs. Ada Gnagey Saylor. He and his wife, Mary, gave the deed to the church for the grounds and the church building, which is 40 by 110 feet, on October 29, 1849, to Bishops Peter Cober and Jacob Moyer of the congregation called Brethren.

Elk Lick Congregation
The Summit Mills Church of the Brethren was originally called the Elk Lick Congregation. The two oldest ministers were John Livengood and John Buechley. John Berkley Jr. and Jacob Lichty were the first two bishops in the Elk Lick Congregation. The Summit Mills Church of the Brethren became one of the three churches of the former Elk Lick Congregation in 1877, the other two being Meyersdale and Salisbury. Joel C. Gnagey and Jonas Lichty were the first elders. John A. Miller was a minister.

Deacons were S. S. Flickinger, William Lichty, Jacob M. Lichty, John B. Schrock, Samuel D. Gnagey, Samuel A. Maust, John N. Davis, and J. J. Fike. Ministers elected were Abraham D. Gnagey and Daniel M. Fike in 1879, Samuel Berkley in 1912.

Jacob W. Peck moved into the congregation in 1880, and George E. Yoder in 1909. Deacons elected were Noah D. Gnagey, Samuel K. Hochstetler, and Peter M. Saylor in 1885; Daniel S. Gnagey in 1897; Hiram H. Saylor, Charles D. Lichty, and Samuel J. Berkley in 1904; William Fullem and John P. Saylor in 1913; Norman C. Gnagey in April 15, 1940; Norval A. Gnagey and Ellis Pritts in October 20, 1942.

Sunday School

Sunday School started in 1872, continuous ever since. The present Sunday School officials are: Mrs. Ada Gnagey Saylor, superintendent; Mrs. Leorga Gnagey Maust, assistant superintendent; Miss Ruth Gnagey, organist. Classes for all groups are very active. The First Annual Meeting held in Somerset County was held in Bishop John Buechley's barn in Elk Lick Township in 1811. The annual meeting was held in the Summit Mills Church in 1859.

Cross Roads Church
The Church Council decided on Decmeber 19, 1885, to build another church at the Cross Roads. Conrad M. Gnagey (father of N. C. Gnagey) gave the plot of ground from the Moses J. Gnagey Farm, and the church was built in 1886 and is a part of the Summit Mills Congregation. The same council of 1885 also agreed to give breakfast on Sunday mornings after the Saturday Night Love Feasts and provide various means of sleeping arrangements during the night, such as cots, bedding, etc.

Repairs and Improvements
The church seated approximately 700 communicants at Love Feasts, and as many as 1,200 were present at some funerals and love feasts. The church has a baptismal pool, built by Deacon Noah D. Gnagey. The church has a kitchen; the second story above the kitchen can and has been used as living quarters.

The year 1939 saw quite a few changes. The pastor and some members became dissatisfied and left the congregation. In 1940, a new organization was installed with a determination to go forward in the Lord's work in the Summit Mills Congregation. The church needed repairs and improvements. The main auditorium was changed and made smaller, Sunday School rooms were provided, piano installed, also electric lights, a large furnace, and a new pulpit. A new roof was placed on the building, and interior and exterior painted and refinished. (Committees were highly commended for the splendid work accomplished.) Re-dedicatory services were held October 20, 1940. The church was rededicated free of all debts.

1946
Present membership listed at 110. Baptized since the new organization in 1939: 46. Received by letter, six. Present organization is as follows:
Rev. Walter F. Berkebile, Elder
Rev. J. C. Beahm, Acting Pastor
Norman C. Gnagey and Wife, Norval A. Gnagey and Wife, and Ellis Pritts and Wife, Deacons and Deaconesses
Mrs. Ada Gnagey Saylor, Deaconess
Norman C. Gnagey, Norval A. Gnagey, and Ellis Pritts, Trustees
Norval A. Gnagey, Treasurer
Sunday Morning Services: Sunday School 9:30 a.m.; Morning Worship, 10:30 a.m.
Evangelistic Services and Love Feasts, each spring and fall
The teachings of the church are strictly Biblical in all its phases.

View the Centennial Homecoming Celebration Program.

> Ada Gnagey Saylor
Mrs. Ada Gnagey Saylor is a lifelong member of the Summit Mills Church and always very active Sunday School Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent. She is a Deaconess of the church. Her husband, Hiram H. Saylor, was elected Deacon in 1904. Her father, Noah D. Gnagey, was a Deacon, and she had two uncles as Deacons, Samuel D. Gnagey and John B. Schrock.

Her Uncle Abraham D. Gnagey was a minister. Her Great Uncle Joel C. Gnagey was one of the first Elders. Her Great-Great-Uncle Samuel Miller built the church and gave the deed. May the Lord grant her His continued blessings.

Mr. and Mrs. Norman C. Gnagey
Mr. Norman C. and Anna Gnagey, Deacon and Deaconess, are life-long members of the Summit mills Church and always very active as Sunday School Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, and Sunday School teachers. Mr. and Mrs. Gnagey are musically inclined. Norman is church chorister, and Anna, church organist. They have all kinds of church song books in their home; anything new that is worthwhile, they will get it.

Their family are all members of the church (something worth striving for). Their home is noted for its fine meals and genial hospitality. They are largely influential for the Centennial Booklet. May the Lord bless them so their services may continue for many years to come.

The Rev. J. Erwin Gnagey
Historian for the Centennial and Author of the Centennial Booklet
Rev. J. Erwin Gnagey was born within the parish of the Summit Mills Church of the Brethren. His home was on the original Gnagey Homestead founded in 1774 by Christian Gnagey from Switzerland, the progenitor of all the Gnageys in America. J. Erwin Gnagey was a young man in his teens when he was the teacher of the Young Men's Bible Class at the Summit Mills Church on Sunday mornings, and superintendent of the Sunday School at the Cross Roads Church on Sunday afternoons.

He was a teacher in the public schools of Summit Township. He spent 25 years as teacher and high school principal in the public schools. He is a graduate of Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pa. He did graduate work at Columbia University and Drew University. He received his seminary training at Drew Theological Seminary. He was licensed and ordained to the ministry in the First Church of the Brethren, Brooklyn, New York City.

He is president of the Elizabethtown Alumni Association, Metropolitan Area, New York City. He has been pastor of several New York City churches and is at present pastor of the Union Community Church, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, a commuting suburb of New York City. Rev. Gnagey's wish and prayer is that the "Old Home Church" may continue to be a "memorial" in the Summit Mills community in the years to come.

Memoriam
The author (Rev. J. Erwin Gnagey) dedicates this Centennial Booklet to the memory of Elder Joel C. Gnagey, one of the first elders of the Summit Mills Church of the Brethren. Elder Gnagey also was born and had his home on a part of the original Gnagey Homestead. The author distinctly remembers him while he was only a boy and greatly reveres his memory.

The Summit Mills Church of the Brethren is the only church for Elder Gnagey during his lifetime; he was ordained there and served until his death. Indeed a record to be proud of and emulated by his successors. Joel C. Gnagey was born February 9, 1836, died 1926.

(Transcribed by Sally Fike Statler, from "The Centennial" booklet and program. Norman C. Gnagey was her great-uncle.)

Note: The church closed its doors in the late 1980s or early 1990s. If anyone is certain of the correct date, please contact the webmaster.

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This page last updated August 21, 2007.