History of Fairlawn West United Church of Christ
How Did We Get Our Name?
Fairlawn: from the original
Fairlawn Community Church which was started in 1946 in the then Fairlawn Reserve subdivision. At that time there was no development west of the subdivision. This area was annexed into Akron eventually.
West: from the original West
Congregational Church which when it started in 1888 was in the far
west end of Akron on West Hill. Today that site (now the
present Red Cross office) is about two miles east of where our
present building is located. The growth of Akron has played
geographical havoc with our name.
Fairlawn-West: the
two congregations merged in 1973 and settled in the Fairlawn
building. Today we are at the far west end of the city of
Akron with the city of Fairlawn which developed later on, now
west of us.
Recent History
1999: The building was renovated to upgrade its look as well as to make it more flexible for use. The renovation involved about seventy-five percent of the bldg.
2000: Prior to this, there had been some folks studying the need for change in way churches functioned in American culture. A number of Fairlawn-West folks (around 50) had visited the Ginghamsburg Church (a United Methodist Church outside of Tipp City, OH) at a "Change Conference" over three years, to learn more about what this would mean. In January of that year a consultant, Jeff Patton of Easum Bandy Associates, spent a weekend with the congregation assessing its present situation and what it would take to be able to reach out more to the world around us. In the months prior to Jeff's visit we had taken a number of congregational surveys and provided a lot of statistics about our life. This was a major turning point. Over the next five years, the leadership of the church sought to learn more and to help the whole congregation become aware of the situation, not just specifically of Fairlawn-West, but of our neighborhood and the world around us, particularly of those younger ages. We realized that people were not joining organizations like the church as they had in the latter half of the 20th Century. Also, we needed to find ways to communicate to the generations of people who were Baby Boomer age and younger, who had grown up in Fairlawn-West. We realized at least 90% were not involved in any church at this point in their life, let alone involved with Fairlawn-West. This led to some very contentious times. At times it was bitter acrimony among folks. It was clear that the congregation as a whole did not share a common vision for ministry or share the same core values and bedrock beliefs as a church.
January 18,2004: The annual congregational meeting was held with approximately100 people present. The meeting clearly presented a divided congregation, where the divisions had become personal for some people. After a wide-ranging conversation on a number of issues, the election of officers and of adoption of the budget was deferred to a meeting in May.
May 23, 2004: The adjourned congregational meeting from January was called to order. The contentiousness from January was present. The discussion and vote on the budget was difficult. When it came time to vote on officers, a person was nominated from the floor to run against the person who had been the treasurer for a few years with the question of whether financial controls were in place and could be trusted. The vote for the present treasurer was strong and was clearly a vote of a majority and for the congregation to move ahead. But, a motion also came from the floor after the election to affirm the direction of the church for the past five years and the present leadership. That passed very strongly. After this meeting, the division that had been present for a number of years around the understanding of what a church is and what the mission of the church should be, was clear. Then the make-up of the congregation began to shift.
History of West Congregational Church
History of Fairlawn Community Church