About
this time, Rev. Landes tendered his resignation and the congregation was again
in need of a "shepherd for the flock". The call went to Rev. J. Stuart
Mill. He and his wife, Ruth, again accepted the call.
The
building plan continued. Sketches were drawn and on June 29, 1959, plans were
presented to the congregation. After a few revisions, the plans were approved
and construction began with Delmont Bennett as the contractor. The renovations
were completed at a cost of $33,000.
On April 16, 1961, the auditorium known as Memorial
Hall was dedicated. Memorial Hall was named in honor of those now deceased who
had given so much of themselves over the years to make the church an
ever-growing congregation while striving to truly be "Disciples of
Christ", promoting His teachings, as well as extending the hand of
fellowship to all who entered God's House.
Rev.
John Stuart Mill II, son of Rev. J. Stuart and Ruth Mill, who attended
Macedonia most of his young life and was ordained here in May of 1959, assisted
his father at the dedication.
In
October of 1964, the church was given the opportunity to purchase 2 1/2 acres of
land and buildings to the north of the church property. This had been the
property of Clayborn and Hazel Boatright. The
transaction was completed in early 1965 at the cost of $12,000. This afforded
the church a much larger parking area and room for future expansion.
In
1967, it again became necessary to provide more Sunday School rooms and in June
of that year, movable partitions were purchased for the south end of Memorial
Hall at a cost of $4,479.
As
time passed and the congregation grew, it became evident that it was again time
to move forward in expanding the physical facility. This time, the attention was
focused upon the sanctuary and the need for additional seating. A proposal was
made and plans were drawn to demolish the original church building and build a
new sanctuary at the cost of $86,625. This
proposal was rejected by the majority of the congregation at a special meeting
in June of 1969,
In
the spring of 1971, a committee was appointed to investigate the possibility
of enlarging and redecorating the church sanctuary. After much study and
discussion, a plan was presented for the sanctuary arrangements be
"reversed" with a hexagon-shaped area containing a baptistry and
dressing rooms to be added. This would allow adjoining Sunday School rooms to be
used for the additional seating needed in the sanctuary. This plan was approved.
The contractor was Paul Wiwi. The cost was $32,000. The building committee
appointed for this project was: Gordon Cleaver, Joe Frank, Howard Lanning,
Gaylard Hadley and Stuart Mill.
Known
as the "Mill Addition", in honor of the Mill Family, dedication
ceremonies were held on November 21, 1971. A week of special services were held
in celebration for the 40 years of service of Rev. J. Stuart Mill to the
Macedonia Christian Church as well as the dedication of the addition. On
Dedication Sunday, there was no debt on the church addition. The building fund,
gifts from various organizations and parishioners, plus proceeds from the
chicken supper and turkey supper/bazaar had defrayed all costs.
Furnishings
for the sanctuary were given in memory and honor of many of our church families
and loved ones. The organ was presented by Ola and Harry Hillman, who served as
the pianist and the chorister respectively for over 20 years. The communion
table was given by the Lee Oyler Family. Mr. Oyler served at the communion
table, along with Marshall Shupp, for many years. The pulpit was a gift of John
Stuart Mill II and family in