CHURCH CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AND COMMITTEE - “Celebrating Our Past, Believing In Our Future” - In early summer 2007 Session called on Diane Easter and Robb Frank to co-chair the planning committee for the church’s Centennial Celebration.  First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton was accepted as the 100th congregation of the Chicago Presbytery on April 20, 1909.

The theme chosen for the Centennial celebration is “Celebrating Our Past, Believing In Our Future.”  Our official Centennial Logo on the left was designed by church member Tad Mallery.

The church will celebrate its centennial with monthly events lasting throughout the 2008-2009 program year (September 2008 - April 2009) beginning with the all-church picnic in September of 2008 and culminating in a community-wide Service of Thanksgiving on Centennial Sunday, April 19, 2009.

Upcoming Centennial events for fall 2008 include:

• Sunday, September 7 - Kickoff Picnic
• Thursday, September 11 - Barbary Coast Dixieland Show Band
• Sunday, October 5 - Centennial Tree Planting
• Saturday, November 15 - Daniel's Window - Christian Rock Band
• December - Centennial Mission Project
• Youth Centennial Mementos for sale as fundraiser in the fall

HELP CELEBRATE THE CENTENNIAL BY SHARING YOUR “FIRST PRES STORY.”  We want to hear about your family's fond “moments in history” at 1st Pres.  As part of our Centennial Celebration we’re inviting you to share some brief nuggets of your family’s favorite moments in your history with the church.   Our goal is to publish these stories on the 1st Pres website for others in the church family to enjoy.  The guidelines and process are pretty simple:

1. Submit a brief write-up (please limit it to 1 page) highlighting your family's history with the church.  It can be a specific event or two, or more general comments that span a period of time.  Given that the Centennial is date-oriented, include dates where appropriate.
2. Include a picture if you’d like (with caption).  Please keep it to one picture.
3. Email your submittal to Jeff Alvis – jeffalvis1@gmail.com.  Attach any pictures in PDF or JPEG formats.
4. If you cannot access email, leave your write-up (watch your handwriting) in the Centennial Committee mailbox in the church office (attention: Jeff Alvis).  You may also include a picture, and we will scan it along with your write-up.
5. A few notes:
1. The Committee reserves the right to make minor edits, check spelling, etc.
2. Since it will be on the website, write accordingly and be careful with the use of family member names and ages.
3. If you would like to include contact information on your write-up, feel free to do so - that's up to you.

We look forward to hearing more about your 1st Pres history.  If you have questions, email Jeff Alvis at jeffalvis1@gmail.com or contact him at 630-665-2325.

OUR THANKS TO THE CREATIVE ARTISTS OF OUR TALENTED CONGREGATION who submitted one or two works of art related to our church for an in-house juried competition.  We will use the submissions in the following ways:  (1) Decorations on note cards to be offered for sale throughout the Centennial celebration, and (2) Artworks auctioned off to church members at a Centennial event.   These works of visual arts are greatly valued by many who have seen prior products. 

Our Centennial Committee is also working on updating, archiving, and digitizing church history.   Much of our early church history (until about 1954) and recent history (about 1999 to present) is already available on this website, but this leaves a gap of about 45 years.  Many pieces of our church history are scattered around Wheaton or have gone amiss.  We feel that this single project (though it may stretch beyond the celebration) is our utmost legacy to the Centennial celebration.  We appreciate all the items already provided by many of our church members for this project.  We are also contacting long-time members for additional assistance in researching details of our church’s history.  If you have any questions, feel free to talk to any committee member.

The members of our Centennial Committee are Diane Easter and Robb Frank, Co-Chairs; Andie Alvis, Jeff Alvis, Kathy Paradise, Debbie Queen, Kathy Suhr, Knox Williams, and Rick Tampier.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR CHURCH HISTORY