First Christian Church - History Part 17

2017 

First Christian Church served as co-host for the 2017 Christmas House with the Women's Civic League. 

The church celebrated what was officially termed the "91¾ anniversary celebration" in 2017, compensating for an oversight that prevented the proper 90th anniversary celebration in 2016. 

During the Christmas Parade on November 25th, the church participated with a float themed "Cupcake Com-mon" as part of the parade's Candyland theme. 

Pastor Bob Brite and Rita Basom collaborated on an ambitious Godspell production planned for November 16-19, 2017, as a community theater performance to raise the church's visibility. The board approved up to $5,000 in advance funding for royalties, props, costumes, and advertising, with plans to break even by selling 500 tickets at $12 each. The production featured a cast of 12-16 members and included Sunday worship on November 19th as part of the performance. 

This represented Pastor Brite's forward-thinking approach to ministry, as he challenged the congregation to "think outside the box" and not be "stuck on what we have done in the past," positioning the church for a new generation and for generations to come." 

Brandi's programming included: 

• Board Game Tournament in Fellowship Hall (April 2nd) with seven adults and six kids 

• Swimming at Cheyenne Aquatic Center for older youth ($4 cost) 

• Summer camp registration for four campers and three counselors 

• Socks and spices collection for the Day of Giving Youth Event 

• Palm cross making in the Kids' Zone 

• Cheyenne Animal Shelter collection (two carloads of towels, rugs, and items) 

Associate Pastor Cindy White maintained an active ministry throughout 2017 despite health challenges, organizing monthly senior trips. Cindy initiated the "Once Upon a Time at FCC" newsletter series to commemorate the church's approaching 90th anniversary, featuring multi-generational family stories including the Harrington family's Depression-era sacrifices and the Christiansen/Gunton/Chaffin/Zubrod family spanning five generations of service. 

Alice Evans led an exceptionally active Outreach Committee, achieving remarkable results: 

• Served 725 meals to COMEA patrons throughout the year 

• Angel Tree Program: all angels taken by congregation members 

• Week of Compassion Disaster Offering: $1,325 

• Reconciliation Offering: over $400 

• Baby Bottle Collection for Life Choice: $504 

• Needs Inc. tuna donation: 907 cans (just 100 short of goal) 

The committee supported various initiatives, including: 

• Church World Service Baby and Hygiene Kits (12 completed by Workshop Ladies) 

• World Vision projects ($505 for three pairs of goats, four sets of seeds/tools, two sets of water buckets) 

• Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless necktie donations 

• Brian Grimm's family support during heart surgery 

• Tennyson Center for Children dinner attendance 

The church undertook significant infrastructure improvements: 

• Elevator installation completion (shipped from Canada in March), with substantial donations received 

• Boiler replacement approved for $50,000 (unanimously approved in September) 

• ADA compliance improvements, including door closure repairs for $3,000 

2018 

The year opened with Teresa Cunningham being hired as Youth Director temporarily. Teresa's appointment as interim Youth Director would evolve into a permanent and highly successful tenure. 

Pastor Brite faced significant personal challenges, including health issues (kidney stones and retinal tears) requiring elder assistance, family issues, and the demanding "toughest funeral of my life." Despite these challenges, he maintained effective leadership, continuing regional ministry involvement and community theater planning. 

The Pastoral Search Committee, co-chaired by Rita Basom and Chris McCoy, began formal preparations in fall 2018, working systematically through congregational profiling and assessment activities with timeline discussions indicating 18-24 months for the complete search process. 

The church maintained exceptional seasonal programming, opening doors during the Christmas Parade (November 24th, 4:30-7:30 PM), offering refreshments to parade-goers, plus special youth programming including Hemi Lighted Forest trip, PJ Party, and Christmas program "Crazy, Busy, Peaceful Holy Night."