35 Years of Memories by Pastor Welty

35 years ago the Christian and Missionary Alliance was celebrating their 100th Anniversary.  Some committee decided that the best way to celebrate was to plant 100 churches on Easter Sunday of 1987.  The Community Chapel was part of that initiative - called "Easter 100".  The church was started by sending out a mailing into our area and inviting people to come to our first worship service which was April 19, 1987 in the Pomperaug High School choir room.

 As the years went by our little band grew larger until in 1999 we had to move to the high school cafeteria.  This required more set up to make it seem a little bit like a church: chairs, sound equipment, projection equipment and of course  coffee and tea for "Fellowship Time".  This was our home until December 2018 when we moved into our current location.   When I think about it, it is amazing that our church was able to continue functioning so long in rented space, and that the high school allowed us to use the space for so long.  Perhaps all of us just lost track of time and kept going week to week.

 When Stephanie and I moved to Connecticut, I had just finished seminary, and we were given the mission of abruptly starting a church in Southbury.  As I look back on the strategy that we were given, I realize that it was not the best way to start a church, but God was faithful and caused His church to grow. 

 Within a few years of our church's start, Stephanie became known as "Miss Stephanie", our Kids' Klub teacher.  Under her leadership our children's ministry grew and included the weekly Kids' Klub at church with its active learning style.  It also included Kids' Kamp, a VBS style program held at Ballantine Park in Southbury in July.  It also included a quarterly program for children and families called Kids' Kafe.  This program included games, snacks, live music and a presentation of the gospel.  For those of you who participated in Kids' Kafe, I have two words for you,  Styrofoam peanuts.  If you don't know that reference, I'll be happy to tell you about it.

 In 2009 Stephanie was diagnosed with end stage renal failure and had to go on dialysis.  She tried to continue her ministry, but the illness made it increasingly difficult to do so.  July 2015, after facing a number of complications from her illness, Stephanie said good bye to this world, leaving me and our church family to mourn the loss.

 2009 was a bitter sweet year for me.  I lost two very dear friends to illness, and had to deal with the news of Stepanie's diagnoses; however, there was good news.  After years and years of looking for property and facing many dead end streets, we were finally able to purchase a very desirable piece of property at the corner of Route 188 and Judd Road in Southbury.   In June of 2009 we received the approval from the town of Southbury to build a church building on that land, and in July of 2009 we were able to purchase it with the help of the New England District.

 After years of paying for our property and developing building plans, we thought we were ready to  build.  During the summer of 2017 we received bids for the building we wanted to construct.  The bids were slightly out of our range, but we were very close and thought that we could rework our plans and come in under the budget.  

 In November of 2017, our church went through a very difficult time like many churches do.  A controversy arose, and many people decided to leave our church.  Those of us who stayed were left wondering what had happened to our church and the friendships we had developed over a number of years.  All of it was gone - seemingly overnight.  It was a perfect storm, as I was only about six weeks into recovering from major heart surgery when it happened. 

 But God was gracious to us, and about one year later, we learned that the Colonial Tavern in Oxford could possibly become our church building.  We went through the process and were able to close on January 10, 2019.  After thirty years of meeting in Pomperaug High School, we had a home of our own.

 While all the problems were happening in our church, the Lord brought another wonderful woman into my life.  Beth stayed by my side during my recovery from heart surgery and my dealing with the church problems, and on February 23, 2019, Beth and I were married in The Community Chapel's "new" building in Oxford.   We will never forget the wonderful party the church family threw for us. It was incredible. 

 During the Lenten Season this year, we looked at different Biblical characters and how they dealt with the ups and downs of life in a series entitled "The Way to Up is Down".  As I look back at the 35 years of the life of our church, I realize the same is true for our church.  We've had ups and downs, but God has been faithful through it all.    So Happy 35th Anniversary, Community Chapel.   May God continue to bless us as we continue Know, Grow and Show.