07 May Reclaiming a Piece of UB History

Our lobby at Healthy Ministry Resources looks different. We added something new: a stained glass window from our former national office. Let me tell you its history.

Way back in 1834, the United Brethren denomination bought printing equipment for a new publishing house in Circleville, Ohio. In 1853, the publishing house moved to Dayton, Ohio, where the denominational headquarters was located.

After the division in 1889, our group lost everything. We had a temporary publishing operation in Dayton for a while. Then, in 1897, everything moved to Huntington, Ind.

Initially, we used a building on South Jefferson. But after 20 years, we built a new, multi-story brick building at the corner of Franklin and Warren Streets to house the publishing operation and the denominational offices. It was dedicated on May 2, 1917, by Bishop Fermin Hoskins.

Above the main entrance they installed this beautiful stained glass window that said “Publishing Establishment of the United Brethren in Christ.” We relocated the offices to the current location in 1976, selling the other building to a local businessman. However, that stained glass window was still there 30 years later when I became bishop.

I thought we needed to reclaim that window. So we talked with the building’s owner. He said we could have it, as long as we paid to have it removed and paid for a replacement. No problem.

And so, the window was removed, and we had it restored to pristine condition. Then a local contractor mounted it in this beautiful wooden case, which takes up most of a wall in our lobby. It is lighted from behind, and looks gorgeous.