Let us look back to some of the history that happened prior to the founding of Sugar Creek United Methodist Church which enhanced the founding of the new church. For more than thirty years, Glenarm and New City churches were a two-point charge - both churches being served by the same pastor. This arrangement of sharing a minister had been a very successful assignment in every respect. The two congregations enjoyed a long and friendly working relationship. This was a group of faithful and dedicated people with a strong desire to serve the community - looking for ways to be of greater service - looking to God for guidance.
We know that many times God has used man to accomplish his divine purposes. Would it not be easy for us to see how the Holy Spirit may guide our hearts and minds to establish a place of worship that would provide greater opportunities for outreach? If these congregations were to continue to exist, they needed to make changes in order to meet the spiritual needs of the community.
Each church was struggling to stay in existence. New families surrounded them, the communities were growing, and new people would attend church for a Sunday or two but did not return. A downward trend in attendance continued! Why?
Early in the fall of 1991, Bill Clark invited our Pastor, the Reverend Kenneth E. Hogren, to his home to share in the picking of some blackberries. Pastor Ken, as he came to be known by us, was assigned to serve our churches in July 1986. The conversation ran a usual course as anyone would expect, finally getting around to "just what could possibly be done to enhance the services of our churches?" There were several ideas that surfaced during this conversation - and the berry picking ended.
Several weeks later, Pastor Ken and Bill resumed the conversation that had started in the berry patch. After considerable discussion, the two reached an agreement, that Bill would conduct a "silent" survey on a family by family basis at Glenarm concerning what the people would like to see happen at their church - suggesting that cost not be a factor. As time went on, others of the Glenarm congregation also began voicing thoughts and concerns, realizing that something needed to be done. Calvin Atchison voiced his concerns and expressed a desire to do something during his lifetime, and indicated he would be very supportive. This survey work continued for the next nine months.
In March 1992, the results of this survey were revealed, and a committee of Glenarm people were appointed to research the results. Those appointed were Bill Clark, Norma Albright, Carolyn Bryan, Lee Curby, Ron Dowson, Lois Frazee, John Kessler, Pat Lucas, Bill Moore, and Bud Redeford, Jr.
New City Church was experiencing similar attendance problems. Although the congregation was doing several things (the exterior of the church was wrapped in vinyl, a ramp was installed to make it easier for people to enter, bathroom facilities were made more accessible) the kitchen and dining rooms located in the basement were not handicapped accessible. Both churches were looking for ways to meet the spiritual needs of the people in the area.
Meanwhile, Glenarm continued to work on the task assigned them, searching out all possible solutions listed in the survey. It is interesting to note that Floyd Boston suggested that Glenarm and New City might merge to see what they could to together. On a Sunday morning in May 1993, Bud Redeford, Jr. accompanied Pastor Ken to New City to explain what Glenarm was contemplating. The Glenarm study committee wanted to protect and preserve the close working relationship the two churches had experienced through the years. However, after some consideration, the New City administrative council felt they were not in a position to provide the necessary financial help Glenarm needed.
In August 1993, things took a drastic change! At the monthly administrative meeting at New City, Pastor Ken announced that the amount to be received from the Anna Derry Nelson Estate was $105,000! What could be done with this gift to meet the spiritual needs of the people in the area of the New City Church? It was at this meeting that Jim Ayers made the suggestion to see if Glenarm might still be interested in look at some kind of joint venture -- if we weren't too late! It was evident at this meeting that there was strong interest in this suggestion. Pastor Ken, almost without hesitation, began to appoint a study team from New City to work jointly with the study team already in place at Glenarm.
At this point, Glenarm immediately set aside their plans. The Joint Study Team members appointed were Norma Albright, Jim Ayers, Donna Behl, Carolyn Bryan, Tom Carswell, Bill Clark, Lee Curby, Juanita Davis, Ron Dowson, Kenny Edwards, Lois Frazee, Cathy Gregory, John Kessler, Pat Lucas, Bob McDermand, Bill Moore, Frances Mottar, Bud Redeford, Jr. and Gloria Tuxhorn.
The first Joint Study team met on September 13th, 1993 at the New City Church. Discussion centered on issues of mission and ministry to people in our congregations and communities. The group believed that by uniting our congregations we could bring together the spiritual gifts and talents of both churches to address the needs and programs necessary to serve the communities.
The second meeting was held November 17th, 1993 at Glenarm Church with Marlene Cummins present as a resource person from the Central Illinois Conference. The discussion focused on the potential for growth and possible location sites for new churches based on a study commissioned by the Conference in 1991. The site that was being considered by the Joint Study Team was on of three pin-pointed in the Conference study as a prime location for a new church start!
The third meeting was held December 15th, 1993 at New City Church with Rev. Howard Daughenbaugh, Springfield District Superintendent, present as a resource person for our discussion. The committee discussed several options and the criteria for each option. The options were:
1) Unite the two congregations and relocate to a new church building with the missional priority of being the core members of a new congregation that would reach out to the people of our communities.
2) Merge the two congregations and relocate to a new church building with the missional priority of providing improved ministry to the present members of the two churches.
3) One of the churches (probably Glenarm) relocate to a new church building with the missional priority of being the core members of a new congregation that would reach out to the people in our community.
4) The two congregations remain in their present locations with a new missional priority to reach out to people in our communities.
5) The two congregations remain in the present locations and continue to provide ministry using the current missional priorities.
The Joint Study Team believed that the first option was the best choice for the ministry and mission of our congregations.
Throughout these meetings God's presence was felt! Whenever a door seemed to close, God always made sure that another one opened. The compatibility of our Joint Study Team was very obvious. The members developed a feeling of faith and loyalty, not only to each other, but also toward a common goal.
At the conclusion of these three meetings, four Study Team members drafted a summary of the discussions and recommendations to present to each congregation for review. At a later date the committee held a meeting so the members could formally consider and vote on a resolution implementing the recommendations. Norma Albright, Jim Ayers, Bill Clark, and Bob McDermand, working under the guidance of Pastor Ken, prepared this report.
A Church Conference met on March 6th, 1994 at the Chatham United Methodist Church. By convening as a Church Conference, the right to vote was extended to all church members present on that day. Rev. Daughenbaugh, Springfield District Superintendent, presided over this historic meeting. The district superintendent and the secretaries of the Administrative Council of each church, Shirley Chism from Glenarm and Jennie Lou Ayers from New City, counted the votes. Both congregations passed the resolution - 75% of the Glenarm people and 62% of the New City people voted in favor of closing their respective churches and uniting to form a new church.
WE WERE NOW READY TO EMBARK ON A NEW JOURNEY IN FAITH AS WE HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE!
As reflected in the history of both Glenarm and New City, the past generations dealt with the same problems of names, sites, finances, and other concerns that this newly formed group was now going to be facing. If this group was going to survive as a church of Christ, it needed to concern itself with more than just survival. God's words -- "If any want to become followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will find it." - had just been manifested! (Matthew 16:24-25)
In May 1994, the Leadership Team for the new church was appointed. The membership of this team was equally divided between representatives of the two former churches and members of the community. Included in the latter group were people from other churches in the area. This team initially included: Chad Ahrens, Norma Albright, Jim Ayers, Donna Behl, Dave Bruun, Carolyn Bryan, Bill Clark, Sue Douglas, Ron Dowson, Rosalie Fattic, Lois Frazee, Cathy Gregory, Chuck Herr, John Kessler, Pat Lucas, Kathern Mackay, Bob McDermand, Bill Moore, Frances Mottar, Randy Pedigo, Bud Redeford Jr, Gloria Tuxhorn, Barbara Weber, and Nathan Wilcoxon. Pastor Ken and Rev. Harry Deffley (retired minister who had visited in our churches after his retirement) served as advisors.
EVENTS UNFOLDED ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY!
A NEW CHURCH NEEDS A NAME! Since we wanted to provide the Conference with a name that was descriptive of the nature and mission of our church, the congregations were asked to submit names they believe would express the identity by listing them on a prepared "voting card" and then return it to the church office. "The Sangamon County New Church" was the interim name given by the Conference to allow a Conference Advance Special Ministry number be assigned to us for contributions that would come through the Conference. By late May 1994, we became "SUGAR CREEK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH". It was selected because the name "Sugar Creek" had long been associated with the community as the area first settled in Sangamon County and was the name of the creek west of Ball School (one of the possible sites for building).
DEVELOPING A MISSION STATEMENT! The Leadership Team decided on "A merging of traditional and contemporary values and ideas so people can find exciting new beginnings and become faith disciples", but later shortened it to "A PLACE FOR BEGINNING, BECOMING, AND BELONGING." The team designed a logo depicting the Methodist Emblem, the flame and Cross in the upper right corner, the river flowing to the lower left towards a Sugar Maple tree, and the name of "Sugar Creek United Methodist Church" below. The team used this design extensively on the mailings, brochures, stationary, Sunday programs, etc.
During August 1994, an outreach campaign made over 11,000 telephone calls and sent more than 6,000 pieces of mail to inform the community that a new church was being organized. This resulted in 941 people requesting their names be put on the new church mailing list to receive additional information about the new church. A tremendous group of people came out to help with the calling, addressing, mailing, providing refreshments, and assisting in many ways.
While the Leadership Team continued to function collectively, Sugar Creek needed smaller work teams to involve more people. The work teams were Worship, Nurture, Education, Finance, Evangelism, and Building for Mission.
The Worship Work Team, exploring a potential site for worship services, contacted the Ball-Chatham Superintendent, Don Kauerauf, about leasing the Ball School for Sunday services and related activities until the new church building was constructed. Both parties agreed on a $650 monthly rental fee.
The Glenarm and New City United Methodist Churches held the last Sunday
morning worship services on September 18th, 1994. All members and friends
of the churches were invited to come and celebrate the ministry of these
churches during a special worship service. Rev. Daughenbaugh lead the
congregations in a "Leave-Taking Ritual" during the worship service at
each church. Members and friends of the two original churches were invited
to gather at Ball School on September 25th, 1994 at 9:00am for a special Sunday
morning service of Holy Communion followed by Sunday School.
The first Sugar Creek Worship Service convened at
9:00am at the Ball School Cafeteria on October 2nd, 1994, followed by fellowship
at 10:00am and Sunday School at 10:15am. People came from Auburn, Chatham,
Divernon, Edinburg, Glenarm, New City, Pawnee, Springfield, Taylorville,
Waverly, and Bloomington-Normal. More than 225 people gathered as the
celebration began with the signing of "MORNING HAS BROKEN."
The Building for Mission Work Team negotiated a contract with Mr. and Mrs. Woodson Colean to purchase ten acres of land located directly across the road south of Ball School for the building site for $30,000 on December 9th, 1994. Sugar Creek purchased an additional one acre from the county for $1050 on May 11th, 1995, which was a small odd-shaped piece of ground formed before the long "S" curve was taken out of the "Old Route 66" and a "T" road was formed at the original entrance to Ball School.
During the months to follow the Building for Mission Work Team, under the leadership of Bill Clark, held many meeting to gather information and prepare preliminary plans for the new church building. The work team held listening groups in several homes to address the many concerns on people's minds. The main question being asked was, "What would you like to see in the new church programming and building?" All kinds of ideas surfaced at these meetings.
Work teams also prepared for the chartering service. The primary requirement to become an official congregation of the Central Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church was to average 100 people in worship attendance during a three-month period. During the three months of October 2nd to December 25, 1994 the average attendance was 142. This meant we were eligible to be chartered just three months after starting Sugar Creek Church. We agreed to wait until a later date because of so much activity at this time of year and unpredictable weather.
We celebrated on March 12th, 1995 with an
exciting and spirit-filled Charter Service which
included "A Greeting and
Declaration of Purpose, Acts of Chartering, Reception of Charter members, Call
to Order of the Charge Conference, presentation of the corner stone for our
new church facility from the Central Illinois Conference by Marlene Cummins to
Bill Clark, a children's message - the Energizer Bunny, who like the church
just keeps going and going, recognition of those leaders who served during the
development of the new congregation, and the first (and shortest) Church Conference
in the history of Sugar Creek Church.
More than three hundred and fifty people attended the Charter Service. Over two hundred forty people in attendance became charter members and thirty-five children became charter preparatory members. Of the Charter members, 62% were from the Glenarm and New City congregations, 26% were Confession of Faith, and 12% were transfers from other churches. Sugar Creek held a second opportunity for people to become Charter Members on April 23rd, 1995.
After the Charter Service, the congregation released more than 250 balloons with a Sugar Creek United Methodist Church Post Office address, a member's name, and a short message asking the finder of the balloon to mail the card back to the church. Replies from finders indicated our message had reached such towns as Mt. Prospect, Minonk, and Attwood, to name a few. At least 275 members and guests enjoyed a celebration banquet, thus concluding the joy and excitement that took place on Charter Sunday!
The Building for Mission Team continued to develop preliminary building plans, which it presented at the church conference on May 25th, 1995. The congregation of the Sugar Creek United Methodist Church voted unanimously to authorize the development of final plans for the new church facility by the Building for Mission Team, the creation of a building finance campaign, and the preparation of the site for the building project.
The Building for Mission Work Team formed smaller work groups with members of the Building for Mission Team serving as Task Force leaders. The team asked people to serve on a Building Area Task Force. The Task Force choices were: Community Life Center, which included the fellowship hall, kitchen and adjacent restrooms convened by Jim Ayers; Education Area which included nursery, classrooms, and adjacent restrooms convened by Bonnie Schnapp; Exterior Area which included parking, signs, landscaping, lighting and grounds convened by Bud Redeford, Jr.; Worship Center Area which included the worship center and worship center lobby convened by Bill Clark; Administrative Area which included main lobby, conference room, and administrative offices convened by Lois McDermand. Each task force was charged with reviewing and recommending the furnishings, floor coverings, wall colors, finishes and equipment of their assigned area and to provide a written report of the recommendations to the Building for Mission Work Team.
With a strong faith that such a building project was within reach, the Finance Team worked fervently and prayerfully to develop a finance campaign. The Finance Team developed a theme to help carry out the "dream" and to remind everyone "with God all things are possible." The theme of the building finance campaign was "Catch the Vision - Share in God's Miracle." The Finance Campaign Director, Lois Frazee, and the Finance Team worked closely with the Building for Mission Team to generate the necessary finances for the new church building. The building finance campaign began with a financial base of $260,000 from previous church funds and properties. The Central Illinois Conference Campaign for Church Growth & Development committed $200,000 to the new Sugar Creek Church. These funds combined with an ambitious $450,000 campaign goal allowed the church to proceed with plans for the new church building project. With the finances in place, the congregation voted to approve the final development of the building and financial plan at a Church Conference held on July 27th, 1995.
Sugar Creek held the formal ground breaking
ceremony on Sunday, August 20th, 1995. This ceremony officially began
the construction of the new church projected to cost $1,100,000.
Actually, Wes Yeaman moved lots of dirt several weeks before to prepare the
site.
WHAT FOLLOWED WAS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE!!!
The building site had to be prepared before the building contractors could move in. The Sugar Creek Church signed a contract with Morton Building, Inc. from Morton Illinois. Abraham (Abe) Stutzman served as the Building Project Manager for Morton Building, Inc. and supervised the building of the shell, which included the concrete work. The teams decided on separate contracts for the electrical, plumbing, heating, interior walls, and insulation.
Once the concrete was poured for the footings and side walls, volunteers hauled in "tons and tons and tons" of fill sand, placed inside the poured concrete walls, and then in the evening hours leveled the sand and compacted it with MANUAL LABOR! After the fill sand was in place, workers put the conduit and pipes in place in the sand and poured the concrete floors. When those activities were finished, Sugar Creek was ready for the Morton Builders.
The first shipment of building supplies arrived
on four semi-trailers from Morton, Illinois at 8:40am on September 25th,
1995. One of the three flat bed trailers had the 54-foot trusses needed
to span the roog of the Worship Center and Community Life Center. This
trailer needed a special permit to haul the trusses from the construction
plant. The box trailer contained miscellaneous supplies for the building
and remained on the grounds. Workers unloaded the other three trailers
and by 10:00am were on the way home! Bill and Mary Clark (Bill was
observing his 80th birthday that day!), Calvin and Mae Atchison, Shirley Chism,
Marjorie Herr, Bill Moore, Lee and Frances Mottar, Charles Young and Pastor
Ken were on hand to witness this historic event.
Under the scrutiny and supervision of Abe Stutzman, work on the construction of the shell of the church building progressed very closely to the projected schedule. Abe expressed his pleasure and appreciation "to see such a group of people who were so enthusiastically committed to the vision of building a church!"
Many volunteers from our own congregation helped with the building of this tremendous project, as well as volunteers from other churches, and from the NOMADS. (The Nomads are a group of retired Methodists who travel the country in their RV units helping with mission projects.) The Nomads spent three weeks in April 1996 staining and varnishing wood trim and 55 doors, and painting some interior walls. Yes, workers needed to eat! Women of the congregation prepared hot quick food items - vegetable soup, chicken noodle soup, Bar-BQ, Italian beef sandwiches, potato chips, hot dogs, baked beans, brownies, pies, and Texas cake, just to name a few. The workers had to find a "chair" to sit wherever they could.
With so much skilled and volunteer help, work progressed smoothly on the Sugar Creek building project. So much had been accomplished since construction started in August 1995, that the primary goal seemed possible. This goal, to have the Worship Center, Fellowship Hall, Main Lobby, Nursery, and Lobby restrooms completed by the first worship service on Sunday, April 28th, 1996, was accomplished! The day before (Saturday, April 27) found many helpers washing windows, scrubbing floors, running electric sweepers, arranging chairs for worship, doing whatever needed to be done. Sugar Creek actually served the first potluck lunch at noon in the Fellowship Hall even though the kitchen was far from being ready.
On Sunday May 5th, 1996, the congregation gathered at 9:00am to consecrate the new Sugar Creek Church building! The worship service included a special message from Bishop David Lawson, the presiding Bishop of the Illinois area of the United Methodist Church. Many other guests from the Central Illinois Conference were present to celebrate the occasion, including Rev. Daughenbaugh, Marlene Cummins, and Betty Story, Conference Director of Communications and Editor of the Methodist Reporter. The Consecration Service also included the baptism of infants and children. Other special guests attending the service we Mr. and Mrs. Woodson Colean, Pastor Ken's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hogren from Geneseo, and Pastor Ken's sister and nephew. There were 452 people in attendance at the Consecration Service celebrating the "VISION and the MIRACLE" that God had shared with the congregation. Following the Consecration Service, members served a celebration brunch with included fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits & gravy, fried potatoes, pancakes, pastries and beverage.
There had been much publicity about the new Sugar Creek Church. Local county newspapers and the State Journal Register published numerous articles as the project progressed. Betty Story also published several "front page" news items and pictures in the Methodist Reporter (later named The Current) about events as they occurred. This was the first time in the history of the Methodist Church that two churches closed their doors, abandoned their structures, and worshiped in a temporary setting until they could build a new church.
Two especially sentimental objects from the
original churches became a part of the new church. One of these was the
large cast iron bell workers removed from the belfry tower at Glenarm
Church. Volunteers refurbished and mounted it on a brick pillar at the
front entrance
to the new church. The other was two stained glass
windows, which were removed from the New City Church. Workers placed
these two windows in the inner wall of the front lobby. The Leadership
Team designed a third stained glass window, which they placed in the center
between the New City windows. Melotte-Morse Stained Glass, Inc,
Springfield, Illinois, made the window. Mr. Wayne Nolan, architect for
Morton Building, designed a large six-foot round illuminated window, a replica
of the Methodist Emblem. It is located in the west gable of the worship
center above the ceiling, and can be viewed only from the outdoors. A
smaller circle dove window over the stage area (also designed by Melotte-Morse)
was given as a memorial. All of these items were in place prior to the
May 5th, 1996 Consecration Service.
The placing of the steeple on Saturday, March
23rd, 1996, was a major event in the history of Sugar Creek Church. The
steeple was a memorial gift. This event drew quite an audience of
spectators and camera buffs. It was an inspirational occasion to witness
the huge crane hoist the steeple into the air and place it ever so gently in
its special place while a strong breeze developed.
A new church has many "first-time" event in its history. A few of the "first" for Sugar Creek are highlighted in the following events.
The first fund raiser took place in June 1994! This event was to set up and take down the tents for the Annual Memorial Medical Center Fair with the proceeds to go for Vacation Bible School expenses. Probably the first fund raiser after Sugar Creek was chartered was the serving of lunch a the Leroy Young sale on May 24th and May 27th, 1995. The first day's sale was held at the New Berlin fair grounds and the second day was held at the homestead. Even though it rained all day, everyone pitched in and made a fun time of it!
Sugar Creek held its "first" auction Saturday July 13th, 1996 at the church to sell off unneeded former church items and supplies. Other items were donated or accepted on consignment. Ten percent of the proceeds from this auction were designated for missions. This was the beginning of a tradition at Sugar Creek Church where ten percent of each fundraiser is designated for missions. Sugar Creek is a strong mission oriented church that continually seeks ways to reach out to help others. A second auction was held in July 1997. At this auction, members sold a quilt that was hand pieced by Mary Clark. Mary had been secretly and quietly doing what she liked to do best. Frances Mottar inscribed names on each block of the "friendship" quilt. Each block cost $10. Lemuel Spengler purchased the quilt for $800 at the auction. This added $1,600 to the Building Fund.
The congregation continued to hold long-established fundraisers while still at Ball School. Members hosted the first annual Sugar Creek Pancake & Sausage Supper on Saturday, February 4th, 1995. The Glenarm Church held this event annually for at least 45 years. The congregation held the first annual Sugar Creek Chicken Dinner and Bazaar on Saturday, September 9th, 1995. (Yes, both of these events were held in the school cafeteria, right where worship services would be held the next day, on Sunday!) New City held this event for at least 50 years.
Holly Hammond and Chub Haugh celebrated the first Sugar Creek wedding at Ball School on Saturday, April 8th, 1995. In all probability this was the first and last wedding to be celebrated in the school cafeteria. Joe Frazee and Sarah Sawers celebrated the first wedding performed at Sugar Creek Church on May 11th, 1996.
Ellen Clark has created many beautiful wall
hangings for the worship area. She made a special wall hanging featuring
a rainbow over the cross, which was encircled by two wedding bands and a pair
of white doves for the first wedding at Sugar Creek Church. She also
made a "stained glass window" hanging for the first worship service
held on October 2nd, 1994 and used at Holly's wedding. This beautiful
wall hanging and many others continue to be used at worship services.
Sugar Creek has organized many "small groups." These include UMM and two UMW groups, Bible study groups, Men's Promise Keepers, Caregiving Ministry Teams, many adult and youth music groups, and much other church related groups as well as various athletic groups. The list goes on forever!
Sugar Creek added a permanent illuminated entrance sign at the north entrance in April 1997. Designer Landscape Co. from Farmersville completed the landscaping on June 4th, 1997. Elmer Frazee and Bill Clark prepared the ground that surrounds the parking area for grass seeding, and completed it on September 12th, 1997. This area has provided many hours of fun and excitement for soccer fans and a wonderful "proving grounds" for Sugar Creek rocket launches!
Who would have thought that in two years the Sugar Creek congregation would be looking at the need to add more space to the building? It was true and something needed to be done. The membership had grown by leaps and bounds. At the end of 1996 the membership totaled about 350. By mid 1999 membership was at 500! Two worship services were in progress since early 1997 and by the fall of 1998 there was a need to have two education hours to help alleviate the crowded classrooms. What a good problem to experience!
Plans to study the space needs began in May 1998. A Church Conference was called for July 1998 authorizing the Board of Trustees to explore the possibility of purchasing more land to expand the original land purchase. A Building for Mission Team began work to develop preliminary building project plans for more education space and for storage.
The Rev. Jack Travelstead came to a Trustee meeting with the idea of UMCOR building a Mid-West Distribution Center on eight acres of land adjoining Sugar Creek property. UMCOR would pay for the land, leaving the title in the name of Sugar Creek. The congregation approached Mr. and Mrs. Woodson Colean with the idea of buying at least the eight acres. The Coleans agreed and set a price of $7500 per acre. After several meetings and a Church conference, again, Sugar Creek Church authorized the purchase of twenty-eight acres with UMCOR paying for eight acres in the southwest corner of the tract. Thus became the need for a second building finance campaign with the theme "Growing Vision - Sharing God's Miracle" in November 1999.
By early March 2000, workers constructed part of the Mid-West Distribution Center, with further construction scheduled to continue at a later date. God's work is never done!
Rev. Ken Hogren was assigned to minister at Willow Hill United Methodist Church in Germantown Hills, Metamora on July 1st, 1999. He and his wife Sue and twin sons, Christopher and Nicholas, lived in Glenarm since July 1986. The leadership of Pastor Ken throughout his tenure was outstanding. There were many events during this period of time that would indicate "God's Guidance" was ever present. The assignment of the Hogren family to this charge was surely one of those events.
The conference assigned the Rev. Bruce Jacobs to Sugar Creek in July 1999. In February 2000, he and his family chose to return to Decatur at the end of June 2000. The Rev. Tom Logsdon arrived to minister to Sugar Creek effective July 1st, 2000.
Frances Mottar has compiled several photo albums and scrapbooks for the past five years. These books record the events listed in this history as well as many other experiences that words can't even express! The photo albums are located at Sugar Creek for those who wish to view them.