First United Church of Christ Dedicates Remodeled Kitchen

“In grateful remembrance of your servant, Reverend Heide Walker Hackman, who loved and served this church for eleven years, we dedicate this remodeled kitchen in your honor.” With reverence and thanksgiving, the members of the First United Church of Christ dedicated the remodeled space, its equipment and the furnishings to her memory.
On March 18th, as a congregation, they gave thanks for all who freely gave of their time and talents. We are thankful for the opportunity and the resources to remodel and renew this kitchen to enhance and enrich our gatherings and for serving the needs of the church and community.
From Interim Pastor Ken Schaub,
As we dedicate this renewed space, we are thankful and appreciate the meals that were prepared down here by people present with us today and people who have gone before us. We remember mother and daughter banquets, father and son banquets, funeral dinners served in this space and wedding receptions held in this room. With these new and beautiful facilities, it may be a time to reach out to the community with hospitality as well as create fellowship among ourselves.
We appreciated the work of the Guild who cooked and cleaned, and planned and decorated and serve wonderful meals. They no doubt bumped into one another and crossed in each other’s paths but it happened in the name of love for one another, for God’s people, and for the church. Their involvement in this ministry of fellowship has definitely appreciated and created special memories for many of us.
From Paul Hodel, President of Council,
We especially want to thank the following people for their exceptional donations of time and expertise that made it possible to construct this beautiful facility under such a tight deadline: Neal Gehin, Cory Kelly, Rodger Goke, Tanya Helwig and Michele Gratz.
We also want to thank the following committees for their hard work: the Stewardship Committee for their fundraising; the Steering and Building Committees for their leadership and planning; Finance Committee for their work securing the renovation loan and managing receipts and expenditures in the renovation and restoration fund; and the Women’s Guild for cleaning, organizing and returning serving ware and cookware to the kitchen.
Also, thanks to our congregation for their support of the renovation and restoration project, including the planning stages and financial contributions.
Finally, I want to thank God. God brought Pastor Heide Walker Hackman to work with First United Church of Christ for 11 years. Pastor Heide was the inspiration and driving force behind the renovation of this beautiful place of fellowship and serving others. We love her and miss her. And we will carry on, continuing Pastor Heide’s work to strengthen our faith, increase our love for one another and spread the Word of God!
God is Good, all the time! All the time, God is Good…