Refurbishing of the iconic, 166-foot, brick First Christian Church tower in Columbus, Ind., is expected to be completed Dec. 4. Additionally, the towerโs fund-raising effortย is within $50,000 of its $3.1 million goal, which recently was revised downward from $3.2 million because construction work this year has come in under budget.
โI am just as much in awe of this fundraising process as I am at the actual structural rehabilitation,โ Jeff Logston, chairman of the First Christian Capital Projects Fundraising Committee, told The Republic newspaper. Logston said he has been impressed by donorsโ generosity, which has included not just church members, but also local folks, grant agencies, and a host of other campaign partners. Key project movers have beenย Landmark Columbus Foundation and Heritage Fundโthe Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
Local architect Louis Joyner has helped guide the project.
โThis has been honestly an awe-inspiring process to see such great collaboration across all these involved groups,โ Logston told the newspaper.
The church and tower were designed in 1942 by renowned architect Eliel Saarinen. The churchโs design helped launch the Columbus communityโs flourishing commitment to internationally recognized Modernist architecture.
An event billed as โTowering Achievement: Community Celebrationโ will help commemorate the soon-to-be-completed project, for which fund-raising began in the church in 2018 and spread to the community in 2020.
Organist Lisa Lohmeyer will perform on FCCโs Aeolian-Skinner keyboard in a free, public concert from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 12. Famous towers from around the world will be highlighted in the programโthe Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the London Bridge tower, Rapunzelโs tower, and FCCโs tower.
Philharmonic musicians, instrumental and singing soloists, and a childrenโs choir also will perform. (Register for a free ticket through eventbrite.com.)
โEverybody who attends will find something to love,โ Lohmeyer told The Republic.
Author: Christian Standard
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I served a sister congregation in Columbus – East Columbus Christian – for about ten years (1995-2004). In my many comings and goings about town, the tower at First Christian Church was always a symbol of hope and a reminder of innumerable blessings from Above! In the past twenty years, the comings and goings where Columbus is concerned have been mostly confined to passing by this wonderfully unique city on I-65. And I never fail to catch a glimpse of First Christian’s tower, which elicits precious memories of many fellow Christians, friends and experiences of life and ministry there.