Our Church History

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#000099" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>First Christian Church</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Calibri" >1001 Chester Road  |  Lansing, Michigan 48912</FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Footlight MT Light" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>  </B></FONT><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="First Christian Church"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Phone: 517.482.6063     </B><B>Fax: 517.482.6495</B></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#000099" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <IMG SRC="1a39ca10.jpg" border=0 width="156" height="161" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Property Committee"><U>Property Committee</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Worship Program Times"><U>Worship & Program Times</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Who We Are"><U>Who We Are</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Directions To Our Church"><U>Directions To Our Church</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Program Descriptions"><U>Program Descriptions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Staff Members"><U>Staff Members</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Current Newsletter"><U>Current Newsletter</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16_newsletter_schedule.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Current Newsletter"><U>Newsletter Schedule</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Current Church Calendar"><U>Current Church Calendar</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Event Photos"><U>Church Event Photos</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Audios"><U>Sermon Audios</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Denomination Website"><U>Denomination Website</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Church History"><U>Our Church History</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:lanfcc@msu.edu" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:lanfcc@msu.edu"><U><IMG SRC="09f96150.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B>Our Church History</B></I><I><B> <A NAME="top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I></div> <div> <I><B> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="781" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#000066 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#000066 HEIGHT= 626 WIDTH="769"><div>     Over the coming months Eldora will be sharing a narrative of the church?s history.  If you are a former member, were baptized at Lansing FCC, or had family who attended our church, please get in touch with us to share your piece of the church?s history.  You can email the church at "lanfcc@msu.edu" or call us at 517-482-6063 or consider attending a Sunday worship service!</div> <bR> <div>     How did we get started as a congregation?</div> <bR> <div>     They say behind every good man is a woman.  Such was the case for Lansing FCC.  From an article in the December 23, 1911, issue of Christian Standard:  Maude Derhammer noted that there was no Church of Christ in the Lansing area.  On Maude?s suggestion, Isaac Bussing came from St. Johns to canvas the Lansing area and found several former members of the Church of Christ who had moved here from other states and communities.</div> <div>     On January 1, 1912, twenty-four prospective members met in the office of Mark and Ethel Carpenter to form a temporary organization.  The role of traveling pastor went to Isaac Bussing and meetings were held in members? homes.  They soon made a decision to pay the Knights of Pythias Hall $5.00 to meet there.  The hall was located where the Olds Hotel would be built on the intersection of Michigan Ave. and Capitol Ave.  (The church is trying to locate a picture of the Knights of Pythias Hall.  Please email the church at "lanfcc@msu.edu" if you have any information or a copy of such a picture).</div> <div>     In July of that year, the founding members decided to call for a full-time pastor.  J. Frank Green, Secretary of the Christian Missionary Society, presided over the meeting on July 28, 1912.  In August they invited J. A. Joyce to serve as pastor for a salary of $600.  They kept the charter open until December.  A total of 38 members signed the charter.  They called themselves Capitol Christian Church and started with an annual budget of $1,400.</div> <div>     The next few years were building years.  The Articles of Association were certified by the State of Michigan on September 11, 1913, and in 1914 the church Constitution and By-Laws were written.  Then, in December of 1914, Pastor Joyce resigned.  Brother Gulledge of Ohio served as interim pastor until W. A. Gressman was hired as the new minister.</div> <div>     By this time, the church had grown and the members desired a new meeting place.  They leased a laundry facility at 422 W. Genesee and held their first service there on June 6, 1915.  After only four years, they hosted their first State Assembly.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="16e3fc70.jpg" border=0 width="319" height="199" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#top" TITLE="Our Church History"><U><B>Top</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:jimmystockard@gmail.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:jimmystockard@gmail.com"><U>Webmaster</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.websitesbyjimmy.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.websitesbyjimmy.com"><U>www.websitesbyjimmy.com</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>