70th Anniversary

The story of the formation of this church lives out the truth to that children’s rhyme I just shared. The church is not a building… the church is its people.

After the building of the First Trinitarian Congregational Church was destroyed in the 1938 hurricane… the people of that church and the people of the First Baptist Church of Christ decided to be a community of faith together… so on September 8, 1940 the Articles of Federation were signed… and the Federated Church of Christ was born…

See Federated Church Timeline here

But the church doesn’t exist in a vacuum… its community… as well as its faith… is constantly changing and taking shape within the wider story of the world…

So some other things that also happened in 1940 were:

• FDR was re-elected to an unprecedented third term as President of the United States
• WWII continued with Hitler’s German army occupying France and bombing London
• And Elmer Fudd became Disney’s newest animated character

From 1940… our timeline jumps ahead to 1950; that was the year that:

• Senator Joe McCarthy began his anti-communist hearings and many reputations were ruined when their names were placed on his “blacklist”.
• China invaded Tibet and the Dalai Lama was forced into exile in India.
• And… the comic strip “Peanuts” was published for the first time.

The Federated Church of Christ was 10 years old…

• The Rev. C. Paul Bush, Jr. was pastor…
• according to a handwritten scrap of paper that I found in some of Frances Lasch’s records… that year the kitchen… bathrooms… and furnace were installed in this building.
• and a young couple came to have their daughter baptized; today we recognize Peg Wasstrom and celebrate her 60 years of membership.

1955; that was the year that:

• Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white woman
• Disneyland theme park opened in Anaheim, CA
• and Hurricane Diane caused massive flooding in northeastern CT… it tore down the big green metal bridge that used to cross the river between Brooklyn and Danielson… and much of Putnam as well as other communities in the area were covered by several feet of water.

The Federated Church of Christ was 15 years old…

• The Rev. Edith Wolfe was pastor…
• The very first Interfaith Thanksgiving Service was celebrated with our neighbors at Temple Beth Israel in Danielson
• the Annual Report notes that on Sept. 11, 1955 the lights in this sanctuary were lit for the first time.
• And Mo Girard and Betty Gallup joined the church.

Today we celebrate their 55 years of membership.

1960, that was the year that:

• John Fitzgerald Kennedy… an Irish Catholic from Boston… was elected Pres.
• A rock and roll band begins performing under its new name: The Beatles
• the 50 star American flag was officially flown for the first time in Philadelphia following Hawaii’s statehood

The Federated Church of Christ was 20 years old…

• Rev. Charles Ihloff was pastor…
• the entire operating budget of the church was less than $10,000
• the Women’s Group focused their efforts on the needs of African Christians…
• And George and Paula Frechette joined the church; today we celebrate their 50 years of membership

1965; that was the year that:

• the first American combat troops were sent to Vietnam
• Martin Luther King Jr. led nearly 25,000 civil rights activists on a 4 day march from Selma to Montgomery, AL
• the Pillsbury Dough Boy was created

The Federated Church of Christ was 25 years old…

• Rev. Charles Ihloff was still the pastor…
• the organ underwent a significant cleaning and overhaul…
• a young high school student by the name of Ned Ross was organist…
• And Ruth Briere joined the church; today we celebrate her 45 years of membership.

1970, that was the year that:

• the first episode of the soap opera “All My Children” aired
• the first Earth Day celebration was held
• 4 unarmed students were killed at Kent State University by Ohio National Guardsmen during an anti-war demonstration

The Federated Church of Christ was 30 years old

• Rev. Charles Ihloff was STILL the pastor
• the Sunday School program was a joint experience with the children from the Trinity Episcopal Church across the way
• the church actually took in $1,000 more than it spent in expenses
• And Jim and Lucy Stuyniski joined the church; today we celebrate their 40 years of membership.

1975; that was the year that:

• Construction began on the Alaska Oil Pipeline
• a very young Bill Gates founded Microsoft
• the Red Sox won the Pennant

The Federated Church of Christ was 35 years old; the church was in between pastors that year, and a brochure created to present to perspective pastors records that:

• average Sunday attendance was between 50 and 60
• a good percentage of our members are willing to assume responsibility in both Church and Town affairs…
• and there is an active Women’s Group with approx. 25 in attendance at meetings
• That year Paul Adams, Sr., Garland Thoman and Mary Ann Thoman joined the church; today we celebrate their 35 years of membership.

1990; that was the year that:

• Nelson Mandela was released after being in a South African prison for 27 years.
• the Hubble Space telescope was launched into orbit
• Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets died at 53

The Federated Church of Christ was 50 years old…

• Rev. Bob diQuattro was pastor…
• Donna Salmon was the editor of the newsletter
• a series of Neighborhood meetings were held hosted by various members of the church
• conversation focused on the church’s self-image and what they envisioned for the future (hmmmmm sounds like history that’s worth repeating?)
• And Tom Rukstela, Marilyn Perry, Dennis Timberman and Wendy Timberman joined the church; today we celebrate their 20 years of membership.

1995; that was the year that:

• the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed.
• the Internet auction site… eBay… was founded.
• the final Calvin & Hobbes cartoon strip was published.

The Federated Church of Christ was 55 years old…

• Rev. Bob diQuattro was still pastor.
• Ellen Majonen enriched the worship life of the church as organist.
• Clarence Salmon was Head Deacon.
• And Hal Malstrom and Ivar MacDonald joined the church; today we celebrate their 15 years of membership

2000; that was the year that:

• Y2K did not shut down the computers of the world as predicted.
• Charles Schulz died and the final Peanuts comic strip was published.
• George W. Bush defeated Al Gore in one of the closest presidential races in history.

The Federated Church of Christ was 60 years old…

• Rev. Linda Kay Stone was the pastor
• the Williams House was dedicated in honor of its donor and long time member, Cath Williams
• the outside of the Chapel building was spruced up with 2 coats of paint
• and the church had to decide what to do about all those bats in its belfry!
• And Arlene Becker and Jean Burdick joined the church; today we celebrate their 10 years of membership.

2005; that was the year that:

• Pope John Paul II died.
• Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf coast.
• terrorist bombings in London brought their transportation system to a near standstill… and temporarily changed the sightseeing plans of our own Mark and Cindy Rollins who were vacationing there.

The Federated Church of Christ was 65 years old…

• Rev. Paulette Harwood was pastor.
• the church’s website was launched.
• our Hopes and Dreams quilt was completed and hung in the sanctuary
• we celebrated our 50th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service with our friends at Temple Beth Israel
• And that was the year that Alex Adams, Tracy Benson, Erin Harwood, Marshall Lambert, Dylan Leeder, Krista Leeder and Rob Leeder joined the church; today we celebrate their 5 years of membership.

2010; today we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Federated Church of Christ.

• our sanctuary has gotten a much needed facelift, we’re soon to begin our undercroft project, upgrading the kitchen that was installed 60 years ago, and next month we will open our Second Chances Thrift Shop.
• we’ve wrestled with some tough questions, and we really miss the people we love who aren’t with us on Sunday mornings.
• But through it all, our mission remains the same; to do the best we can, no matter how insignificantly small it may seem, to feed people of all ages, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

What will we look like in 5 years when we celebrate our 75th anniversary? Who knows!

Maybe it’s time to repeat a bit of our past and hold a few Neighborhood meetings to discuss that question.

But no matter what the future has in store for us, I know that God will still be at work within and among us as our community continues to change and grow. Amen.