HISTORY OF COMMUNITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH - 1910 TO 1980
CONTINUED GROWTH
Pastor William W. Reiley was appointed minister of Community Methodist Church in July, 1959, to succeed Pastor Chester Imhausen who was transferred to Wauseon. Ohio. Pastor Reiley was a native of Pennsylvania. He attended Juanita College for two years but transferred to Dickenson College where he received his PhD degree in 1936. He pursued additional studies at Boston University and Juliard Institute of Music before entering Drew Theological Seminary i n 1941. He served several other charges before coming to Community, the last being Waterville, Ohio. The Reiley's had four children. Mrs. Reiley was an accomplished musician, having attended Juliard Institute of Music before her marriage.One of the unique events to be held at Community during the first year of Pastor William Reiley's charge was the presentation of Alan Payton's "Cry. the Beloved Country" by the Bishop's Company, a touring repertory group from Santa Barbara, California. evening, The show was presented in the church sanctuary on Sunday evening, May 22, 1960. The bishop's company, interracial and interfaith, was in its seventh year on tour and had appeared at a number of the most prominent colleges in the United States as well as the Assembly of the World Council of Churches at Evanston, Illinois.
One of the first problems that faced Pastor Reiley at Community was the extremely crowded conditions he found at both worship and Church 343 attended worship services each Sunday morning, compared to an average of 297 in 1955. There was a clear leveling off from the earlier years, but the over-crowding persisted in spite of the additional space gained through the purchase of the annex in 1957. Henry Wamboldt, then Church School Superintendent, went so far as to declare that the "educational facilities of Community Methodist Church had been inadequate ever since the first Sunday the present Church building was opened for Church School in 1955.
In the belief that the time had come when the second phase of the building program under the Church Master Plan was both necessary and possible, Pastor Reiley appointed a building committee in July, 1961, to consider what steps should be taken towards meeting this objective. The Building Committee, under the leadership of Paul Smith, conducted surveys in cooperation with the Boston University. The University analyzed raw data furnished to it and made recommendations to the committee as to additional space required and the type that would be most desirable. The resulting recommendations regarding space requirements for just present needs were about double what the committee felt the congregation could finance. Dr. Frederick L. Pederson, Director of Church Extension in Philadelphia, after a visit to Community on November 6,1961, advised that there appeared a great need for an additional 15,000 square feet of space for educational purposes and for an enlarged sanctuary. He estimated that the cost of such facilities would require an outlay of at least $250.000.
After much deliberation, the Committee recommended that building two educational wings of the Master Plan be considered there, and work on a main sanctuary building be deferred until a later date. At a Quarterly Conference held on April 17, 1962, with Dr. Kellog presiding, the congregation approved the recommendation of the Building Committee. It further established a building fund campaign to raise approximately $70,000 through a 100 week program. It was estimated that the two wings would cost approximately $125.000. Rollin L. Rosser, architect for the first building, was selected for the second phase of the building program. By September 20, 1962, Mr. Donald Kear announced to the Official Board that the Beale Construction Company had been awarded the building contract for a total of $112,000 with completion planned for July, 1963.
See photos of the construction.