On Sunday, February 16th, 2025 The United Methodist Church of Chugiak celebrated their 71st birthday with a mortgage burning. Our church was chartered on February 13th, 1954 with our first worship in our first building in 1961. In 1965 we had our first sanctuary space and that building served us well for 35 years.
In 2000, our church embarked on a major expansion to add 17,000 square feet of ministry space to meet the needs of our community. While much of the work was done by volunteer work teams from across the U.S., this was not inexpensive. A $1.3 million loan was taken out to fund the expansion. And, since that time, the church has been paying off the loan all while it has engaged in ministry.
In 2024 we had a capital campaign (which you can read about and donate towards HERE) to pay down this debt and take care of other building needs (including another loan for earthquake damage from 2018). At the close of 2024 we received notice that the mortgage loan was paid in full and we moved to have a celebration at church to mark the occasion. It was determine that we could do it on the church’s birthday.
In preparation, some of our people decorated our welcome area with pictures, images, and a history of that 25 year old building expansion.
While we had unforeseen technical difficulties on the day of celebration, we did take pictures and video to mark the occasion and share with our members and friends.
Thank you to Dan Sadler for taking a picture of some of our members who were part of the crew that dreamed about the expansion, planned for it, and labored to make it happen.
He also took a video of our the prayer we used in church to mark the paying off of our mortgage and rededicating the church. It was led by seven different members who had been with us throughout these 25 years and had carried this debt the longest.
After the worship service, we made our way to our Welcome Area for a potluck and then out to a fire pit in front of the church. All those who had stayed were invited to take a copy of our mortgage cover letter and throw it into the fire. It was a momentous moment for many of those who had been around during this time.
You’ll note that our long-time members and friends were the first to throw their paper in the fire.
Here is a video and pictures from the mortgage burning outside.
This mortgage was one of our biggest expenses on a yearly basis. The hope is that, in paying it off, we’ll be able to more fully focus on other ministry needs, including some major repairs and updates for our building.
Thank you to all who helped make this happen. Your gifts are appreciated.