The Dunkirk,Indiana, News and Sun
Wednesday June 22,1994
Letters to the Editor
(Editor's note: The following is a letter
from Dunkirk resident Rosemary Brown to commerorate the 50th anniversary of
the founding of the First Pentecostal Church of Dunkirk. Her father and
mother ,Isaac and Mary White brought her to Dunkirk when she was two years
old. The family stayed for a while, and then moved back to New Castle. But
because Isaac White was skilled as a glass blower. he returned again in
March 1941, to accept a job at Indiana Glass Company. Prior to moving back
to Dumkirk, the family had been attending the Pentecostal Church in New
Castle. At the time of their return to Dunkirk, there wasn't any
Pentecostal church in town. Mrs Brown said that at first the family tried
other churches but eventually with the help of her father and mother and
some visiting ministers a Pentecostal Mission and Eventually a church was
started in Dunkirk.
After getting
married Mrs. Brown and her husband moved away from the Dunkirk area. Her
husband was a minister who served at churches in Washington, Indiana,
Tipton, Indiana,Muskegon,Michigan and for a while in Arcadia, they also had
a church in Elwood, Indiana. About two years ago the couple returned to
Dunkirk. Her husband is still active in the ministry being an Evangelist
and Bible School Teacher. Mrs Brown also helps with the Sunday School
Teaching and plays the guitar and the piano.)
D Day's
50th anniversary has come and gone and so has the 50th anniversary of the
first Pentecostal Church of Dunkirk. I have written this article a time or
two before so I'm really not all that late I just edited the other copies
out. It was about two months before school was out at Dunkirk High School
that I heard the good news that some ministers namely Rev T.J. Miller from
Muncie and Rev Howard Dyer from Hartford City, had decided to help us start
meetings on Main street in a storefront uptown Dunkirk. Well you talk about
coming alive I did just that. Jesus said "I am come that ye might have life
and that more abundantly." I was not at school when I heard the good news
but I heard it at home the night before. I remember very vividly that the
next day I could hardly wait until lunch time to tell my friend's mother. I
was so happy and excited that it was literally impossible for me to walk .
I wanted to run but fearful of drawing too much attention to myself I
skipped in huge big leaps all the way down to Center Street. (I felt like
Elijah running in front of the Kings chariot. or so I Imagined that how it
must have been.) When I got there after their greeting, I said I have the
most wonderful news and I began to shout, from the kitchen, through the
dinning room and around the living room and back about three times.
Whereupon my friends mother said "Child settle down and tell us." So I said
"Pentecost is coming to town." I still remember her reply, "Is that all?"
and she proceeded to tell me a thing or two of what she thought about it.
But it was impossible for her to dampen my enthusiasm.
And so we started having services in
the mission up town. There was our family and the minister's family to
start with. My father Isaac White worked very devotedly --He cleaned the
church , opened up turned on the lights and he went all over town bringing
into church and Sunday School everyone that would come. In the winter he
would get up early on Sunday morning ,go into town open up the Mission and
build a fire with the wood and kindling he had brought himself (with no
thought of remuneration) so we could have a warm building to come into.
Then he would go outside and shovel snow off the walks to make it easier for
everyone else to enter. Next he would come back home for our family before
going out to pick up other friends and relatives.
In October 1944 My
father purchased four lots on Ohio Street, in Dunkirk, on which to construct
a church building. During that winter after working eight hours a day at
Indiana Glass Factory in front of a very hot furnace , he would go to Ohio
Street and start digging for the foundation. There were some mighty cold
days that He and my brothers worked. Dad got the foundation , framework,
walls and was pretty far on the roof before I ever knew of anyone helping
him besides my Brothers. And he never ask for any help buying the materials.
Along about this time we changed
Pastors and different people started helping on the building of the church.
Our first Pastor was Rev. R. L. Yonts. Later came Rev Clifford Runyon, Rev
Eston Poling and then Rev Henry Lowe. It was while Bro Lowe was Pastor
that that My husband and I moved away to take a church in Washington,
Indiana. Since then of course in the last fifty years the church has been
expanded and is much bigger.
A lot of
things can happen in fifty years and there are so many experience that I
could relate. Maybe that's why this anniversary article is so late. I
think I tried too hard to tell too many things and I have decided I just
can't tell it all unless I wanted to write a biography or something like
that I must not leave my mother Mary White out she did more than her share
with love and sacrifice. Anyone who knew her can tell you that. Maybe it
isn't so late after all with
father's day having just passed.
God is still real, I still get blessed , Jesus
is the same yesterday today and forever. For He hath said I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee. Sincerely Rosemary Brown LIving near
Dunkirk, Indiana at the time of this writing.
Rosemary's Songs
Turn Your Radio Onwith Mark and Jeff Brown
Wait a Little Longer, Please Jesus with The Brown family
Throw out the Lifeline with Rose Brown
Start here:
Grandma's House
Mama's handsYes, Maam! Remembering how my grandma kept her house
We decided to have church in the kitchen
Uncle Lacy (and my brother, June, too)
Gladys:
Safe in the arms of Jesus
The little errand girl, part 1