C P C L I F E | J A N / F E B 2 0 1 6 3

• 1 9 5 6 • Roger Anderson breaks

ground for CPC’s first sanctuary

• 1 9 5 7 • Dwight D. Eisenhower begins his 2nd term

• 1 9 5 8 • The Hula Hoop

is invented

• 1 9 6 0 • Gas averages

$0.25 a gallon

• 1 9 6 3 • Martin Luther King,

Jr. gives “I Have a Dream” speech

1 9 6 6to

1 9 7 5

D E N N I S + M Y R A H Y K E SWe moved to the Twin Cities in 1966, and after visiting several churches, we joined Christ Presbyterian Church in 1967. The clincher was when Roger Anderson called on us at our Bloomington apartment—tough to say “no” to Roger!

We worshiped in what is now Anderson Hall, and the staff included Roger and a part-time visitation pastor. Corporate, Christ-centered worship was a major emphasis then, as now, and by 1968, plans for the second sanctuary (now the Great Room) were coming to fruition.

CPC’s commitment to global missions was firmly in place during this period. We partnered with several other churches in Edina to form Christian Volunteers of Minnesota, initiating a vigorous mission outreach to Africa. This legacy continues today in our close ties with Congo and Zambia.

As our personal faith has developed, we feel so grateful that CPC has been our church home all these years. We have each been blessed by being active in the life of the church. Moreover, three of our four children were baptized at CPC, all four were confirmed here, our daughter was married at CPC, and three of our grandchildren have been baptized here. Praise God!

• 1 9 6 6 • Lyndon B. Johnson

is president

• 1 9 6 7 • CPC has 1,031 adults

& 500 children

• 1 9 6 8 • CPC’s second sanctuary

is completed

• 1 9 7 0 • Gas averages

$0.36 a gallon

• 1 9 74 • President Nixon

resigns

1 9 5 6to

1 9 6 5

R O G E R + D O T T I E A N D E R S O NWhen I was in seminary, I knew I wanted to be the minister of a new congregation. When I accepted the position at Christ Presbyterian Church, 70th was a dirt road and Highway 100 was just a rural two-way street. We lived on the property for three years, and there was a swamp, a little woods, a ball field that the kids played on. A childhood dream! Our kids built a tree house in the big oaks. The interesting part of a new church development is that when you start a new church, you’re it! There’s no director of Christian education, no janitor, no one to do the youth work, the choir. There was me and then the lay people. From the start, the missions committee made the decision that we wouldn’t add additional staff until our church was giving one-third of our giving to missions. We wanted to meet that goal in five years. Then we said within the next ten years, we wanted to be giving an equal amount to missions. We’ve both seen God’s faithfulness to CPC. To see it today, so vibrant, so filled with young people and families—that is God’s faithfulness. Our hope is that CPC would always have strong, Bible-believing leadership. And for the community of CPC to keep trusting in Jesus. Keep reading the Living Word. Saturate yourselves with that message. It’s all about the people . . . it’s the people in the church who make it go.

Roger Anderson served as CPC’s senior pastor from 1956 to 1988.

2 J A N / F E B 2 0 1 6 | C P C L I F E

C P C L I F E | J A N / F E B 2 0 1 6 5

• 1 9 7 8 • Edynamoesis founded

• 1 9 7 9 • Walkman is invented

• 1 9 8 0 • Gas averages

$1.19 a gallon

• 1 9 8 1 • Jimmy Carter is president

• 1 9 8 2 • Chariots of Fire wins Best Picture

1 9 8 6to

1 9 9 5

B E T H M O N T G O M E R YVirgil Leih began serving as an associate pastor as Roger Anderson was ending his time as senior pastor. I was Virg’s ministry assistant. As a former businessman, Virg was the perfect person to be at CPC during this time since he was successfully able to lead the Building Together capital campaign to build the Multi-Purpose Room (gym), offices, and classrooms. All without a senior pastor!

He really loved visiting new members in their homes. It made a huge impact on people: “The new pastor came to my house—he knows me!” There’s even CPC folklore that he would sometimes beat visitors back to their homes on Sundays after services.

I had a desk by the door, and Virg would jump up on the desk when he came in in the morning. The second I would see him in the office each day, I would start laughing. He was such a case! I really enjoyed him; I never worked for anyone like him before or after.

Beth Montgomery worked at CPC—in a variety of important roles!—from 1985 to 2014

• 1 9 8 8 • Prozac

is invented

• 1 9 8 9 • John Crosby is

called as CPC’s second senior pastor

• 1 9 9 2 • Bill Clinton

is elected president

• 1 9 9 5 • Oklahoma City

bombing takes place

1 9 7 6to

1 9 8 5

A N N Y O U N G E RMy husband, Robert, and I started coming to CPC in the late ’60s. We both came from Baptist backgrounds, so we hadn’t attended a Presbyterian church before. Robert and Roger Anderson first met outside of church and started chatting. So when Roger and a couple of his sons came to visit and invite us to CPC, we agreed to try. This was a time of racial segregation in worship. In some areas of the country, people just didn’t mix. As far as I know, there weren’t any other black families at CPC at that time. And knowing Roger as I have over all these years—as a man with a great Christian heart—he wanted everyone in the community to worship together. This just wasn’t a typical attitude you’d see everywhere.

CPC was welcoming, although I’m not going to say everyone was thrilled! But as a whole everyone was very nice. And spiritually we found a great atmosphere. We joined CPC in the ’70s and were able to see our children make friends and get involved. Robert was a deacon and an elder, I was in the choir, and we belonged to various Bible study groups over the years. CPC has been my church home for 47 years now!

• 1 9 9 0 • Gas averages

$1.34 a gallon

Virgil Leih & his wife, Pat & daughter, Corbin

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C P C L I F E | J A N / F E B 2 0 1 6 7

• 1 9 9 9 • CPC’s current sanctuary

is completed

• 2 0 0 0 • Gas averages

$1.51 a gallon

• 2 0 0 1 • George W. Bush is inaugurated

• 2 0 0 3 • Toyota’s hybrid car is invented

• 2 0 0 7 • The iPhone is invented

• 2 0 1 6 • CPC celebrates its 60th year in Christ’s service!

1 9 9 6to

2 0 0 5

S U E P A Y N EIn 1996 we began a process at CPC to consider our physical presence on 70th and Highway 100—we were bursting at the seams! When I arrived in 1987 to be the minister to children and families, there were somewhere around 300 active children. By 1996, there must have been closer to 900. What is now the bookstore was the only entry to the sanctuary (now the Great Room), and on many Sunday mornings, the traffic through there came to a complete stop. We had added more services, used every space we could (classes and small groups even met in the coat room and the kitchen), and considered something like twelve options—from do nothing to move to a different location.

A year of considering options and needs, and especially prayer for God’s leading, led us to the building of the current sanctuary, which was used for the first time on Easter Sunday 1999. I’ve touched the ceiling of that room (the building committee got to climb up the construction scaffolding one evening) and under the flooring are handprints and messages of blessing and hope for all that would happen in that space. But as you know, the church is not a building; the church is the people! I left in 2005 for graduate school, and when I returned to the Twin Cities in 2008 to teach, there was no question in my mind where my church was—it gathered on the corner of Highway 100 and 70th Street.

• 1 9 9 9 • Clinton is acquitted

in impeachment proceedings

• 2 0 0 7 • The 35W bridge in

Minneapolis collapses

“After living in New York for forty-five years, my

wife and I left a network of very close friends and

family to be near our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids in Minnesota

in 2012. I was a little apprehensive about this

life-changing decision, but instead it soon became a spiritual revival for me

as I discovered the love of Christ in the community of CPC. Home is not just being here in the Twin

Cities with our family; it is being part of this church where I truly feel the

presence of the Holy Spirit.”

- P E T E V A N D E W A T E R

“Student Ministries is very engaging, and I’ve learned a lot about myself, others, and God in a fun and loving environment.”

- A M A N D A G A N S , H I G H S C H O O L S E N I O R

“My favorite thing about CPC is how there are so

many ways to be involved, and that keeps me connected

to God week after week.”

- A N N I E W A G N E R , H I G H S C H O O L J U N I O R

“I like to play and learn about God’s stories at CPC. I’m

learning how much Jesus cares for us.”

- C A R L O S C L A P P, K I N D E R G A R T E N E R

“My relationship with Jesus has

grown through becoming part

of my CPC Bible study. Men and

women, single and married,

senior citizens, boomers, Gen-

Xers, the occasional college

student home on break,

experienced and brand-new

students of God’s Word—

we learn, struggle, laugh, and

cry together as we experience

the power of the Gospel to

save us and transform us.”

- P A T T Y W H I T E

“The community I’m part of at CPC means the world to my family and me. Our Sunday Community, Mixed Tapes, embodies exactly what CPC is trying to accomplish in making

church feel like a home.”

- A A R O N W I L L I A M S

2 0 0 6to

2 0 1 6

TAKE A CLOSE LOOK: A lot of staff members still work at CPC!

• 2 0 0 8 • Barack Obama

is elected president

• 2 0 1 3 • Gas averages

$3.80 a gallon

6 J A N / F E B 2 0 1 6 | C P C L I F E