Preserving the Past, Stepping into the Future
Our Historic Building
Our main building was completed in 1931 in the midst of the Depression. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Columbus Register of Historic Properties. Nationally known architect, John Russell Pope, was chosen to design the building.
The Preservation Grant Project:
Today the issues of long wear and tear, once considered aesthetic, are affecting the structural integrity of the church building.
- Our front steps are so badly worn they create a potential liability to public safety. The steps, also an essential component of the building’s envelope, provide a roof over sensitive mechanical systems now endangered by cracks and leaks in the stairway.
- The Rose Window is the church’s official logo. Now warped and leaking, the window is compromised and poses a threat to the strength of the façade.
- Replacement of eroded mortar within the masonry of the building has been a gradual activity, but the pace has been inadequate. This tuckpointing process is now critical on the south and east facades to stop dangerous deterioration, stanch leakage, and prevent loosening and falling stones.
An Unprecedented Opportunity
The National Fund for Sacred Places awarded us a grant for $250,000 to support restoration and preservation of the south façade of our building and other areas needing repair. The grant is conditioned upon our ability to raise required matching dollars.
The church then applied for a community grant and The Tad and Nancy Jeffrey Fund awarded $350,000 for the project.
Since then, the church has also received an anonymous $200,000 gift to support the effort.
First Church now has $800,000 of funding available for needed repairs. The total cost of repairs has been set at $1 million. Therefore, church leaders have authorized a campaign to raise at least $200,000 to complete the critical restoration and preservation work. With current funding available, each dollar contributed to a campaign will be matched by $4.00.
Information Sessions
Date
Time
Location
Host
Sunday, 9/6
10 a.m
Classroom C
Tom Worley
Wednesday, 9/9
7 p.m.
2080 Willowick Circle, Columbus (NE)
Jackie Dean
Sunday, 9/13
10 a.m.
Classroom C
Tom Worley
Monday, 9/14
7 p.m.
863 Lookout Point Dr., Columbus (NW)
Paul & Melody Leidheiser
Wednesday, 9/16
7 p.m.
1317 Glenn Ave., Grandview
Martha & Hank Wilson
Sunday, 9/20
12:15 p.m.
Classroom D
Letter from Fundraising Leaders Tom Worley and Allison Lowery
Completing a Pledge Card
Please join us in supporting this nationally recognized historical preservation project topreserve our past and ensure our future. We invite you to complete the pledge card sent to your home with the brochures explaining the grant project and the fundraising campaign. All preservation project pledge cards need to be submitted to the church by 9/30/26 even if a gift will be submitted later in the year. The church needs to receive pledge cards for this special fundraising campaign prior to the kick-off of the annual stewardship drive that is planned for October.
If you prefer to complete a pledge card online, then please use the following link:
Ways to Make a Gift
Similar to making other gifts to the church, you can write a personal check, transfer stocks or mutual funds, or use a credit card. For those age 70 ½, you can direct that a qualified charitable distribution be made from your IRA to the church. Please make sure that your financial institution identifies you as the maker of the gift and to note that the gift is for the preservation grant project.
You are encouraged to make your gift(s) by December 31, 2026, if possible, to match the project’s construction schedule. Yet, if you prefer to make your gift in 2027, it can be accommodated.
For transferring stock or mutual funds, please contact Annette McCormick, Business Administrator, to assist in accessing the church’s Schwab account.
For making credit card donations whether through Realm or EasyTithe please use the appropriate link listed below and indicate if the amount of the gift is to be made weekly, monthly, or one-time:
Construction Progress
On July 20, Berglund Construction Co. began construction. Scaffolding has been erected on the Broad St. side of the church and in the gallery of the sanctuary. This allows access to the stonework and to the Rose Window for repairs. Mortar repairs have begun.
On August 24, Berglund began removing panels of the Rose Window so that the stained glass can be cleaned and restored at a qualified stained glass studio. Glass panels will be replaced temporarily with a weather-proof covering in the meantime. The restoration process will take 6-8 weeks before the glass panels are returned and re-installed. Then, once scaffolding can be removed, the front steps will be replaced. All work for the grant project should be completed by the end of 2026.
This project is supported by a grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and by a community grant of the Tad and Nancy Jeffrey Fund of the Columbus Foundation.