By George Young
(gayoung@cox.net)
This is a series of articles profiling some of the residents who live and work in the South Mountain/Laveen Villages. In keeping with the original format of the Villager to only print the positive, we will attempt to acknowledge some of the great folks that have contributed so much to our lives and are hopefully role models for all of us. In keeping with our Easter theme this month we will profile a church full of Good Folks.
A HISTORY of SOUTH MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CHURCH
717 East Southern Avenue, Phoenix, AZ
South Mountain Community Church may be the oldest continuing congregation in the South Mountain Village, with its earliest community gatherings beginning before 1912 when local ranchers and their families gathered for Sunday School and worship in each others’ homes. The Ladies Aid Society of South Phoenix, petitioned rancher Dwight B. Heard to donate a plot of land within his newly subdivided residential area for a community center. Neighborhood House was constructed and became a multi-use facility for the area including Neighborhood Congregational Church. Many of the families that met in homes held their first worship service in the Neighborhood House on Thanksgiving, 1912. Neighborhood Congregational Church was charted in 1916. It met in the Neighborhood House until the construction of the church building next door in 1945.
In 1923, land was given by the J. T. Bowles family to begin a Methodist Episcopal congregation in
South Phoenix, located originally on Broadway Ave. By the late 1950s, Grace Methodist Church had relocated, about 1.5 miles west of Neighborhood Congregational Church on Southern Avenue. Both congregations were in expansion and building modes during the 1950s-60s. Grace completed their second facility, and Neighborhood constructed an addition to the original fellowship hall and kitchen, plus a two-story education wing. Later, Grace Church housed a child care center for the community.
Many members from the two congregations were friends, most notably through participation in Boy Scouts, plus some other community organizations such as what is now the Roosevelt Women’s Club, formerly the original Ladies Aid Society of South Phoenix.
In 1992, these two congregations officially merged to become South Mountain Community Church. As a “federated church”, it is a member of two denominations: the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.
Currently SMCC hosts two other congregations in its facility: Gentle Shepherd Metropolitan Community Church and the Samoan Christian Mission of Arizona and is in a covenant relationship with Wesley United Methodist Church across the street.
SMCC seeks to continue the tradition set by the Neighborhood House almost 100 years ago: to offer God’s grace by providing space for families and organizations in the South Mountain Village to gather and grow.
Rich Doerrer-Peacock
God Bless the Folks at SMCC and God Bless America and God Bless the South Mountain/Laveen Village’s.
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In his spare time, Ethan enjoys going to the movies and spending time with his friends. He also likes swimming, playing basketball, karate and reading books. Ethan would like to spend more time outdoors camping and hiking. His favorite vacation destination is Disneyland.
