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 A
Brief History of
Mission
Hills – First Congregational Church
United
Church
of
Christ
Beginnings
and Buildings
The
area known as Mission Hills was bought by a sea captain named Henry J.
Johnston in a parcel of six acres shortly after the Civil War for $.25 an
acre. In 1887 his daughter
built the first house at
2036 Orizaba St
. George Marston later
developed the land and named it Mission Hills at the turn of the century.
At the time it was a fairly inaccessible area of orange groves,
olive trees and small farms.
George
Marston and Judge Sloan, who were members of First Congregational Church
(our parent church) at 6th and A Streets, decided that the new
development (which at that time was the end of the trolley tracks) should
have a new Sunday school. The
Sunday school movement in those days was as vital as regular worship in
many places throughout the
US
. Marston and Sloan met with
Earl Barr and Rev. Rigdon of the Central Christian Church.
These four gentlemen held Sunday school classes in the afternoon at
the Rev. Rigdon’s home on
Ibis Street
. Mr. Marston purchased land
nearby at the corner of
Fort
Stockton
and now Jackdaw Streets at a price of $2,000.00.
Here they built a redwood chapel, a joint venture of the
Congregational and Christian (Disciples of Christ) churches.
Interestingly, years later the Congregational (now United Church of
Christ) and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have a formal
union. Our congregation, as is
often the case, was way ahead of its time.
Mr.
Marston prevailed upon the Rev. John Doane, a Congregational minister from
Greely
,
Colorado
, who was vacationing with his wife and daughter in
La Jolla
, to form a church. The church
was organized as Mission Hills Congregational Church in 1911 with 67
charter members. One of the
hallmarks of the original congregation was a result of the Rev. Doane’s
musical talent. He organized a
boy’s and young men’s choir that became widely known.
Excellence in music, both vocal and instrumental, continue to be an
important aspect of public worship here to this day.
Following
the death of Rev. Doane, the church hired the Rev. Henry Roberts from
Tucson
. Rev. Roberts was an
excellent pastor and the congregation grew rapidly under his leadership.
As the lot north of the present church was for sale, it was
purchased and an L-shaped addition was constructed.
This was used until the present church building was built.
The
present church was built to replace the original chapel in 1920.
During the construction of the new sanctuary, the congregation
worshipped in the auditorium of the
Francis
Parker
School
. In 1950 the chapel and the
education annex were added.
When
the present sanctuary was completed, Mrs. John Doane and her sister, Ms.
Mary Cowles, donated a pipe organ. This
organ was selected by Mrs. Doane’s son, John, who was an organist of St.
John the Divine in
New York City
. When the organ was
completed, Mr. Doane dedicated it by giving a recital on it.
In
May 1987, Mission Hills – First Congregational Church approved a
three-year plan for the renovation of the present facility.
Underwritten by contributions from church members and a limited
matching grant from the church’s endowment reserves, expenditures
totaled one-half million dollars when completed.
Prior to that a generous contribution from the estate of Gail
Butterfield provided the funds needed to complete the renovation of the
sanctuary ahead of schedule.
In
gratitude, the sanctuary clay panel art work designed by artist Gerald
Thiebolt was dedicated to the glory of God and in loving memory of Jack
and Gail Butterfield, longtime faithful members of the congregation, on
Sunday, June 24, 1990.
The
congregation voted to identify itself by its denominational affiliation
name on June 14, 1994. From
that day to the present the church has been known as Mission Hills United
Church of Christ.
The
Parent
Church
Our
parent church, First Congregational Church, was organized October 10,
1886, and occupied a large brick building in downtown
San Diego
(6th and A Sts.). It also was built by George Marston.
In 1962, the building was declared unsafe and in 1971 was sold.
Following
a brief association with Plymouth Congregational Church and the
consideration of building a new church, the members of First
Congregational Church voted to merge with MHCC and use their resources to
build the First Congregational Memorial Tower, a senior retirement
building on Park Blvd., to give endowments to Pilgrim Pines Camp in
Yucaipa, CA, and to fund the Pilgrim Fund, an endowment of the newly
merged congregation.
The
Pastors
There
have been seven ministers who served the Mission Hills congregation
following the death of Rev. Doane. Their
pictures and the dates of their respective ministries are in a cabinet in
the church narthex. The Rev.
Joseph Sandven, who was called in 1968, presided over the union of Mission
Hills Congregational Church with Chaplain E. Vaughan Lyons, Jr. of First
Congregational Church. The
union was celebrated on October 13, 1974.
Rev.
Sandven resigned October 1, 1978 to accept a position in
Auburn
,
CA
. Chaplain Lyons became the
pastor and subsequently retired in 1985.
The Rev. Edward W. Schadt served as the pastor until 2003.
The
Rev. Scott Landis was called to Mission Hills UCC on November 28, 2004.
The church declared itself to be an Open and Affirming Congregation
on June 18, 2006 thereby continuing its long-standing commitment to be a
congregation that welcomes all people.
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