FCC History: 1943-1970s

In 1943, more than 20 years after the project started, all the various loans for church construction were consolidated when a $29,000 loan was procured from the Disciples Board of Church Extension. Mortgage payments were then set at $290 a month. In 1950, member Harland Sanders took to the pulpit to exhort other church members to step up and get the church out of debt. We don't know if there was any official action taken, or what effect his speech had, and it was the only time Sanders is mentioned in the church board archives.

In the 1950s and '60s, the sides of the church balconies were closed off to form much-needed Sunday School classrooms, air conditioning was installed, and part of the fellowship hall in the basement was partitioned to create the youth chapel.

To raise funds for debt relief and for outreach programs, the ladies of the church made fried donuts in the church kitchen and sold them every Saturday morning. They also sold bottles of vanilla, and later artisanal brooms which we still sell today.

In January of 1966, a fire that began in the church basement damaged the lower level, and smoke damage caused the organ pipes to lose their plating, although they were still functional.

In 1975, a remodeling project was launched that cost more than twice what the building construction required 50 years earlier. On September 14, 1975, the dedication of the newly-remodeled sanctuary was held in conjunction with the building's 50th anniversary.

FCC had pioneered the practice of electing women as deacons in 1923, but that only lasted until 1926. However, women have always had a hand in church leadership. In 1978, the idea of women as deacons was made permanent when Eugenia Gover was elected as a deacon. In 1983, the junior deacon program was revived to include young ladies. In 1989, Margaret Thurman and Jeanette Ladenburger were installed as the first women elders. Lee Ann Strunk and Joyce Fox were made elders in 1991, which makes them the longest-serving active elders today, with 34 years of service as of 2025.

Pastors during this period included Elmore Turner, John S. Chambers, C.N. Barnette, John S. Chambers again, William Huie, Elmore Ryle, and C.H. Dudley, who had the longest tenure of any pastor, leading FCC for 28 years.

Previously: FCC History, chapter two.

Next: FCC History, chapter four.