The Church Building's 30th Anniversary - continued

From the "Lifestyles" section of the Friday, October 4, 1996 edition of the Daily News-Sun:

Presbyterians mark 30-year milestone

Celebration heralds ecumenical sharing

By J.J. McCORMACK
Senior staff writer

(Continued from yesterday.)

...Since its humble beginnings, First Presbyterian Church members have continued the tradition of sharing with other ecumenical churches that dot the Sun City landscape.  They also have been successful at expanding the Presbyterian church's reach in the Northwest Valley.

It was First Presbyterian Church that purchased the site on Del Webb Boulevard for Faith Presbyterian Church at a cost of $70,000.  First and Faith Presbyterian later pooled resources to buy a $150,000 parcel in Sun City West for Desert Palms Presbyterian Church.  Now the three congregations are trying to buy land in Sun City Grand for about $600,000.

When it was dedicated, First Presbyterian Church boasted 223 members.  The congregation grew steadily over the years, as did the church structure.  Membership peaked at nearly 1,500 in the late 1970s and for years afterward, the vast church parking lot filled up for three Sunday services.

Membership has fallen off in recent years because, as former senior paster the Rev. Doug Wright put it, "people have a way of dying off and moving away."

Wright and another former senior pastor, the Rev. Paul Calhoun, stayed in Sun City after retiring from full-time ministry.  Both men characterized First Presbyterian Church as "mature" even though at 30 years old, it is nowhere near the age of some Presbyterian churches around the country.

See the rest of this article in tomorrow's post.