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The barn on the east end of the property (now the Education building parking lot) provided, with some renovating, adequate housing for the Church School. Each stall in the barn held a different Sunday School class.The first service was held in the house on the 23rd of March 1952 (Easter Day) with an attendance of 74 adults, including Helen Radford, George & Gretta Johnson, Mary Margaret Anke and her three sons, and Betty Dobson Hunt. Edith Richards, the Heckels, the Arbuckles, the Armstrongs and the Woods were some of the 12 original families from the North Side Church. At the next Sunday service the choir made its debut, having had a previous commitment the week before to sing at Epiphany Church (Avalon) for Easter.
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Above: Groundbreaking for the new North Hills Building - May 17, 1953
Below: The Laying of the Cornerstone - September 13, 1953
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Christ Church made itself visible in the community immediately by offering one of the first Nursery schools in the North Hills, located in the original house. For many years it offered a weekday Kindergarten which is now a pre-school with children from 2 1/2 years to 5-years old.
Sunday by Sunday the congregation had continued to grow to such an extent that by the end of the year there were 225 families on the roll and it was felt necessary to start planning for the construction of the new church. A committee was formed under the leadership of Mr. James E. Dobson. So efficiently did this committee operate that ground was broken for the first unit of the new building on May 17, 1953.
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Participants in the ceremony were Mr. A.H. Heckel and Mrs. Jane Nye, representing the old Christ Church, and Mr. Edward Tait and Mrs. Albert Anke, representing the new Christ Church. Mr. Elmer J. Uhl was selected as the Contractor and construction started immediately. The construction schedule was held up slightly while the sewer line was eventually tied into the same one as the Swan Acres plan of homes.
The cornerstone was laid on September 13, 1953.
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The first service was held in the English Gothic styled building on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1953. This, by coincidence, happened to be the 121st Anniversary of the founding of Christ Church and consequently made the first service one of great significance to all.
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After the first building was completed in 1953, the mortgage of $65,000 was paid off in five years time! This had been done through the sacrificial giving on the part of all members.
On the second floor of the new church was the worship area. Originally, the hillside in the back of the church (where the playground is now) was to be cut back and replaced with a parking lot. The main entrance to the church would have been off that parking lot. The third floor included an activity area and basketball court. The church secretary�s office was also on the third floor. The undercroft held a kitchen and open area. This undercroft was the site of many spaghetti dinners held to raise funds for the next church building. (It has been said that the present church�s mortar is actually spaghetti sauce!)
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