The "The Little Chapel On Buch Avenue" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading to work at Grebinger Gallery in nearby Neffsville.  This time of year the roads are more crowded and I usually try and find the easiest route, be it slightly longer, to get to work.  I travel north on the Fruitville Pike till I reach Buch Avenue where I wind my way through neighborhoods until I reach the gallery.  Along this route stands a rather nondescript brick building that has no visible door.  

The front of the Christadelphian Chapel on Delp Road.

Standing in front of the building is a white sign that reads "Christa- delphian Chapel."  Lancaster County is a melting pot of religious groups which include everything from the Mormons to the Moravians to the Catholics to the Amish to the ..... well, I guess the Christadelphians. One day I took my camera with me on my way to work and stopped for a few photos.  The windows in the Chapel were all covered with either shutters, blinds or paper, not allowing a view of the inside of the Chapel.  On the rear of the building were two windowless doors that I assume allowed entrance into the Chapel.  To the rear of the property was a cemetery, but a sign said it wasn't the property of this religion, but of another close-by church.  Wondering exactly what religious group occupied this building, I "Googled" Christadelphians.  

Entrance door? into the Chapel.  This is the rear of the building.

Seems the Christa- delphians are a millenarian (Latin for "containing a thousand") Christian group who hold a view of Biblical Unitar- ianism which is a belief that the Bible teaches God is a singular person -the Father- and that Jesus is a distinct being, his son.  The movement developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century based on the teachings of John Thomas who coined the name Christadelphians from the Greek for "Brethren in Christ".  

Sign in front of the chapel giving times for Worship,
Sunday School and Bible Class. 

Seems there is no central organiza- tion that tells followers what to do and believe, but the group is tied together everywhere by their zeal for reading God's Holy scriptures and their understanding of His plan and purpose as He had revealed to everyone therein.  They believe that salvation is attained through faith in Christ and the hope of resurrection to eternal life.  As I read about the religious denomination, I wondered what they thought of Christmas.  Seems that in the brotherhood there is a wide variety of view about Christmas.  Some avoid the holiday by not giving presents or sending cards, while others embrace it by displaying trees and singing carols, while others see Christmas merely as a chance for families to get together.  So now, after reading numerous articles and stories, I'm stumped as to how I feel about the brotherhood who meet weekly in the little brick house without a front door along Buch Avenue.  I guess I will wish them a Merry Christmas and hope I don't insult any of them.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.