WCC Hosts Open House

Winterset Community Church to host open house this Sunday—stop by to see the latest renovations

 

Ten years ago a handful of families decided to start a new church in Winterset. With some help from Martensdale Community Church, Winterset Community Church got its start on the first Sunday of June 1999. After meeting in several locations—from a bank to the elementary school lunchroom—WCC found its home in an old autoshop turned warehouse at the corner of East Washington and South Second Street.

 

With a lot of hard work and many donated hours, in 2005 church members transformed the building into a useable and comfortable place for children, youth, and families to meet Sunday mornings and throughout the week. However with a steady amount of growth, the initial rooms needed to be further expanded and renovated. And with the new John Wayne Museum promised just across the way, the old brick warehouse needed a bit of a facelift—that’s precisely what it got.

 

Starting in the fall of 2008, the congregation cleared out and made way for Dan Bush’s Newcastle construction team to begin the process. While taking advantage of the spacious new community building at the Madison County Fairgrounds for Sunday morning services, WCC’s attendees wondered what was happening inside their church home (which was more or less being gutted). Slowly, the outside transformed to a two-tone stucco-like finish with an attractive stone base. At the front door a large metal cross now stands above an added green glass awning. Another dramatic improvement, the sidewalks leading to the church’s entrance are no longer cracked and difficult to maneuver—rather, steps with railings provide easy access to the building.

 

Inside, a carpeted concrete floor gave way to a rosy stone tile. The east wall, taken down, moved out an additional 14 feet to make room for more seating. This space became the stage where the worship team plays. Along with two new display screens, this focal area is now framed by two colors of wood. And of course, these screens (along with song lyrics, quotes, and Bible verses) are easier to see now that the overpowering center column has been replaced with two smaller supports off to the sides of the sanctuary. Children’s classrooms were added and the nursery expanded creating a welcoming and playful space for all the little ones who attend each week.

 

For the older crowd of teens, church members, along with youth pastor Jay Bock, have worked almost non-stop since the top of this year preparing WCC’s first official youth area.

 

“I am very excited about having an office and a youth room, I’ve never had either and having those will really help me to do my job more efficiently,” says the youth pastor enthusiastically. “I’m really looking forward to inviting kids into the youth room; it’s going to be a lot of fun, it’s going to be a great place for kids, it’s going to be a fun place to hang out.”

 

One more change to the property was the removal of the rental house to the east of the church. This soon-to-be grassy space will allow the children space to play safely before and after church services and during events like vacation Bible school.

 

“Our purpose at Winterset Community Church is to live in community with God, each other, and our neighbor,” explains senior pastor Scott O’Conner. “We want our remodel to reflect that purpose. Our remodeled building accomplishes community with God by providing an attractive location to demonstrate our faith in God's worth, in other words God is worth a project like this. The remodel accomplishes community with each other by providing a facility for our congregation to worship and fellowship together. And our remodeled building accomplishes community with our neighbor by taking an old building and beautifying it for the community and inviting the community to consider a relationship with God.”

 

Because the renovation was a community effort, and because the church is really here for the community to enjoy—WCC invites everyone curious to stop by on Sunday, June 7th from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon. There will be some goodies, an opportunity to wander through the church, and a chance to see before and after pictures scrolling across the screens.

 

For a preview you can stop by WCCs website www.wintersetcommunitychurch.org or swing by for Sunday morning services, they take place each week at 8:45 and 10:45 a.m.

As printed in the Winterset Madisonian 06-10-09