History

Some more about us . . .

Read on for a brief history of this church.

Originally Kenwood Presbyterian Church in the 1930s, the church building was allegedly floated down the North Platte River to where it is currently located. It became a United Pentecostal Church in 1961.

Below is a letter from a woman who was familiar with the building’s history.

“I have fond memories of this church at 12th and Washington in Casper. At three years of age I would go with my father on Saturday to mop the floor and set up the chairs for the Sunday service. The preachers were assigned Seminary students who came for a year. Every other 6 months the young seminary student would live at my home at 1026 South Jackson just 2 blocks away. The second 6 months he would live with the Fred Lamb family at 1736 S. McKinley. The two preachers I remember were John McPherson (later a Navy Chaplain) and John Abernathy. This church provided Sunday school for about 130 children (6 classes) from the state children’s orphanage just four blocks east on 12th Street. There were benches at the back of the room where the orphans sat. One of those children went all the way through school with me from kindergarten up through high school. He was adopted by a well-to-do family who had lost their son in an accident at Alcova Dam. The church was sold around 1939 so that the congregation would go to the parent church at 9th and Wolcott. Some of the congregation were furious about this and left the Presbyterian church. My parents then sent me to the big church for Sunday school. The back of the picture has my mother’s writing: ‘Here is an interior view of our church I took Easter Sunday. They were doing some inside work that was almost finished when this picture was made. The arch at the top of the room wasn’t finished. They need to do something to the chairs.’ Picture would have been taken about 1936 with my mother’s KODAK 127 box camera. Note: They replaced all the sanctuary chairs with the folding type you see to the left (Purchased from the 1st Congregational Church). This allowed more seating. The other chairs were moved to the small dining hall directly behind the sanctuary. I visited this church for a Sunday in 2011. It is now a nice United Pentecostal Church and has an added room on the south side. The stage area and two rooms on either side no longer exist.