Aging

Left: last Sunday at 752 E Oak St, The congregation ended the service with the hymn "Blest Be the Tie that Binds. " September 2, 1984

Below: breaking ground for the new building on June 16, 1985.

The 1980s saw Central Christian Church choose to leave Kankakee, Illinois. The congregation discussed the future in a congregational meeting on June 1, 1980 (lxix). At the time, finances were strained, with money borrowed from Memorial Funds used to pay utilities and only 110 pledges totaling $30,000 turned in for the next fiscal year. People had left for better programs in other churches, and the location was blamed for the loss of their own programs, as well as being “ rejected on evangelism in this area ” (lxx).

Changing neighborhood demographics made some in the congregation feel uneasy and some criminal activity brought fear. Anecdotal stories tell of muggings in the church parking lot, and replacement of glass in the

“doors and windows in the Old Building of our church” was discussed at a board meeting in June of 1983 “because of gun shooting and broken glass ” (lxxi). Three months later, a theft of furniture worth $1050 was stolen from the building (lxxii).

In September of 1982, the congregation had an offer to buy their building. According to the board meeting minutes, “Bill Berry reported that Rev. and Mrs. Williams had looked at our church on Wednesday. They were very impressed. They had offered us a price before, but it was not enough. Their church has now been sold. $150,000 was offered” (lxxiii).

The church was still not in the best financial state; money that had been collected for missions was being used to pay other bills. Headstart had used the facility but chose not to return. Looking ahead to 1984, a “Ways and Means ” committee was planned to be able to supplement financial needs. lxxiv Nonetheless, the preparation for the move to Bourbonnais with purchase of land and construction of a building continued. In May of 1984, an article in the newsletter reported “Our Dream… Becoming a Reality ” in which there was a reminder about the $125,000 building fund campaign goal to be met over a period of three years, and members were encouraged to “ give prayerful thought to their pledge ” (xxv) before signing their commitment card at the All Church Dinner. The excitement was not unanimous; loss of a building and the traditions contained within induce grief, especially for those who are not ready nor willing to move on—whatever their reason. The move from Kankakee to Bourbonnais was bittersweet, and when Rev. Howard Ditrick invited the congregation to worship on the last day in Kankakee, he acknowledged the grief that loss brings, writing, “That will be a hard Sunday, but an important one. Though we are happy about our new location and have a strong faith in God, this does not mean that we will not grieve or should not grieve about our move ” (lxxvi). classrooms, covering 6,800 square feet.lxxviii Rev. Edds ’ cross was removed from the wall behind the baptistry at the Kankakee location and later placed on the one of the side walls of the new sanctuary, hanging awkwardly as to not block an air vent. Because the cross had been designed and created for its original location it was too large for the new sanctuary. The building was ready for the congregation to begin its new life with its first worship service on Easter Sunday, March 30, 1986, and later was dedicated on September 14, 1986. The dedication litany included these words from the Rev. Howard Ditrick:

The service that Sunday ended with the hymn “Blest Be the Tie that Binds ” and on September 2, 1984, the congregation began meeting in their temporary location: Noel Levasseur Elementary School in Bourbonnais.

They broke ground and dedicated the site for their permanent building on June 16, 1985 (lxxvii) The $570,000 building would consist of a sanctuary, fellowship hall, offices, and

We will use this building, which we dedicate today with deep emotion and hearty gratitude, to be the launchpad for the kind of living which will reach out— to touch to heal to serve to love. --Rev. Howard Ditrick

"We will use this building, which we dedicate today with deep emotion and hearty gratitude, to be the launchpad for the kind of living which will reach out— to touch to heal to serve to love.

Rev. Howard Ditrick In unison

, the congregation gave the benediction in which they acknowledged the passing of ministry to future generations and a “ confidence that the Spirit is working a new tradition among us

(lxxx

). By the early 1990s,

the church was

moving forward, and “1992 seem[ed] to be a year

of promise

” (lxxxi) with attendance nearing the capacity of the sanctuary. The Five-Year Planning Committee planned to discuss adding an additional service. Central was involved in local events such as the Help Your Neighbor Club, the Bourbonnais Friendship Festival, and ecumenical activities.

Toward the end of Rev. Ditrick's tenure, Central

celebrated its Centennial Anniversary

, celebrating the history of the church through words, pictures, and a Homecoming Worship Service, with the sermon given by the president of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, Dr. James Seale (lxxxii) On this day, Central was reminded of its purpose to proclaim the gospel, encourage all persons, serve the community, transcend all barriers within the human family,

to be faithful in Christian stewardship, and to sustain and be sustained by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and work cooperatively with other denominations (lxxxiii). After Rev. Ditrick’ s retirement, Central installed

Frank L. Hoss, who had first been their interim

minister, as its called minister. At the time of

Hoss ’ installation, Central had “ a membership of

300, outstanding youth and music programs…

[and] continues to be a leader in the community.

As the church begins a new century, the congregation looks forward to even greater After a slight uptick in membership the following year, Central’ s membership and worship attendance began to decrease, never regaining its strength in numbers (lxxxv). In 2007 internal strife and divisions took root and people left for other churches in the area or no church at all. About thirty even left to start a new Disciples church, called Disciples Mission Christian Church, taking the history of Central with it on its website (lxxxvi) but not the affiliation with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It would not last.

Above: Cover of 100th Anniversary Celebration pamphlet, August 1, 1993

Rev. Robert P. Bushey, Jr. The 2010s brought a burst of activity when Timothy of the congregation, Rev. Robert P. Bushey, Jr. was called to his home church as minister in 2010. Prior to this, community outreach had dwindled to an annual rummage

sale, prayer shawl ministry, Christmas families

outreach, and hosting the Christmas Day, Inc

. dinner. Over the next 10 years, the small church that had no recognition other than being the place where the big parking lot was began to impact the community again. After updating various forms of communications such as the newsletter and bulletin and creating a new website, Central began to have community events. They participated in the local Friendship Festival parade, the school bus demolition derby at the Kankakee County Fair, and hosted their first Trunk or Treat.

Rev. Bushey instituted a Vision Leadership Team.

to determine the trajectory the church should take. This team of about twelve people met every two weeks for two hours sometimes more,, They faced truth and were honest with themselves about the conflict the church had had as well as acknowledging that what they had been doing in the past was not working now and would not work in the future. The team looked at internal changes that needed to be made, such as transforming the parlor into a more modernlooking “Welcome Center, ” remodeling the sign on Main St. NW, and making recommendations to update the Constitution and Bylaws.

Rev. Bushey & Rev. Scott Woolridge at Installation, 12/5/2010 Trunk or Treat, 2011

Kankakee County Fair Bus Demolition 2011

Kankakee County Fair Bus Demolition 2011

120th Anniversary 2013

Christmas Eve 2017 Blessing of Pets 2016

Wednesday Pub Talks Chili Cookoff 2019

The focus on community mission and engagement was highlighted, an area that had not previously been a priority for the congregation. Rev. Bushey got the local Continuum of Care meeting again, using Fellowship Hall as the meeting place. He started a Blessings in a Backpack program, using the parking lot to hold car shows as a fundraiser. Later, the parking lot became a place to host Farmers Markets, and Central partnered with a new organization for the homeless, Fortitude Community Outreach, and became a shelter site in its inaugural season.

People now knew where Central was and came through the doors to volunteer for Blessings in a Backpack or Fortitude, stepped on the parking lot to buy produce or baked goods at the markets, and to look at the classic cars. It became a busy place during the week. People did not, however, come through the doors en masse for Sunday worship. As the congregation has aged over the last thirty years, and members have died or moved away, per capita giving has had to increase and the congregation operates on a deficit budget. Occasionally, there have been large one-time gifts to help see it through, but a dwindling congregation cannot sustain a building and personnel, even if it is only two part time employees and contract musicians. Despite a high level of activity during the Covid-19 Pandemic, the changes in 2020 helped to bring the state of the church into focus, and the board was faced with the difficult task of making a decision about the future. Four options** were considered and communicated to the congregration:

Continue worship only using pulpit supply Sell the facility and lease a different location Close the church and distribute assets to the region and denomination

Birth a new ministry (lxxxvii).

**These are similar to the options the congregation faced in 1973, see page 18

Farmers markets

Baptisms & New Members, November 2019

Blessings in a backpack began in January of 2013, supplying weekend

nutrition to 50 children in 4 schools. In 2021, it serves 440 children in 19

schools, and in 2022 anticipates expanding to 500 children in 20 schools.

Communion table

Cruise Night 2015

With the renovation of the parlor into a Welcome Center, the congregation began selling fair trade product from Equal Exchange. Right: Nobody expected virtual worship to last as long as it did; we all had hoped to be together in the sanctuary by Easter.