A current exhibit at the Elizabethtown College High Library is telling the story of a century-long tradition of service and dedication, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Church of the Brethren’s Mission in Nigeria through, “Roots of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN): H. Stover Kulp in Nigeria.”
Located in the High Library’s IDEA Lab on the building’s main floor, this new exhibit is free and available for the public to view from now until Sept. 28, 2023. The exhibit is open during High Library hours.
H. Stover Kulp
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Church of the Brethren’s mission in Nigeria. Now known as Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN), it is the largest national body of the Church of the Brethren in the world. The exhibit tells the story of H. Stover Kulp, one of the first two Church of the Brethren missionaries to Nigeria in 1923.
“Kulp’s life and work in Nigeria is an inspiring story of service and dedication,” Elizabethtown College Archivist Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh said. “I’m appreciative of students Abigail Sholes ’23 and Erin Moore ’23 for their work processing the Kulp papers and the family of H. Stover Kulp for their generous donation, which made this exhibition possible.”
Kulp’s time in Nigeria is detailed through correspondence, documents, and several hundred photographs from the newly processed H. Stover Kulp Family Papers, 1911-2016, which the Hess Archives and Special Collections received in 2021. The exhibit celebrates the seed that Kulp; his colleague, Albert Helser; and those first Nigerian Brethren planted, while also honoring the members who continue to persevere and support the church in Nigeria.
Throughout the course of the last century, EYN has grown from a small mission to the largest Church of the Brethren organization in the world, reaching nearly 1 million members. Placing a high emphasis on education, health, and agriculture, EYN’s ministries include its peace witness, aid to those affected by the crisis, leadership development, Women’s Fellowship (ZME), and youth programs.