Church Centennial Devotionals¹

Jeffrey D. Oldham

1998 December 08

First United Methodist Church of Sunnyvale, California, celebrates its centennial this year of 1998. At the beginnings of the Administrative Council meetings, I have presented the following devotionals concerning the church's history.

Prehistory

We present the impact of Christianity on Santa Clara County before 1898: HTML, PostScript, PDF.

Building the First Sanctuary

David Parsons obtains the land to build the first sanctuary: HTML, PostScript, PDF.

Paying the Pastors

The local church received support from the Methodist apportionment system to pay its pastors and construct its buildings: HTML, PostScript, PDF.

William K. Hooper

Mr. Hooper served as Sunday school superintendent for fifty years! HTML, PostScript, PDF.

Bernhard W. Anderson

Professor Anderson is our church's most famous member. HTML, PostScript, PDF.

Carol Amen

Carol Amen wrote inspiration books. I read from Take Time to Say Thank You.

New Sunnyvale Residents

In the 1950s and 1960s, Sunnyvale grew rapidly. The church do, too. HTML, PostScript, PDF.

Looking Backward and Forward

Summary of the church's past one hundred years, speculation about its next one hundred years, with an emphasis on 1998 and 1999. HTML, PostScript, PDF.

Dedicating the Sanctuary

Hymns and a (slightly modified) prayer from the service of dedication of the church's current sanctuary 1975 February 02. HTML, PostScript, PDF.

The Author

Jeffrey D. Oldham, who currently serves as chairperson of the church's Administrative Council, abuses his position by presenting these devotionals at the council's meetings. He also serves as an usher at the 8am Sunday worship services, a lay minister, as an ex-officio member of the Finance and Nutrition Committees, and helping write the church's employee handbook. He has served on the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, the Nominations Committee, and the Missions Committee. When not attending meetings, he occasionally preaches, teaches Sunday school, and plays with the young families of the church.

In his spare time, he works toward a Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University. He also occasionally teaches classes, illustrates technical books, and travels through the West. He comes from Houston.

Footnotes

... Devotionals¹

©1998 Jeffrey D. Oldham . All rights reserved. This document may not be redistributed in any form without the express permission of the author.