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Church of Christ presents event venue for community use

Two decades ago, Sundance's Church of Christ acquired a new building and a goal: to create the kind of space that would provide everything a person could possibly need to host any event they might have in mind.

Weddings, conventions, reunions, parties, funerals, support group meetings, graduations, exercise sessions, conferences, dinners, baby or wedding showers and more – if you could think of it, the Church of Christ wanted you to be able to host it.

Fast forward to today and that goal has become a reality, thanks to the hard work and contributions of the church family. The completed community room is located on U.S. 14 on the west end of town and it just needs one more thing: you.

"We just want this to be used," smiles Cheryl Wales, one of the team responsible for the renovation. "This has been our goal all along."

The church building has always been a space for public use, albeit on a smaller scale. At first, it was a communal area with an apartment on the back, which was utilized as a safehouse by Crook County Family Violence for many years.

"We've always let people use the building, but in order for this to happen, we just had to gut everything and start over," Wales says.

A fresh start was necessary to give the building a cohesive feel and a coordinated layout.

"We feel like we've really, really worked to make it user friendly for a multitude of uses," Wales says.

Today, the building is split into one main area and several smaller ones. A contemplation room boasts a fireplace, comfortable seating and a view of the mountain, while the office Wales occupies for her counseling and therapy services can double as a team classroom.

Two additional classrooms sit nearby, one for little visitors – complete with smaller tables, posters and beanbags, with a quiet space for fussy babies to the side of it – and the other appropriate for both kids and adults.

"One of the things we hope is that this will be a place where Sundance can invite conventions, conferences and those kind of things," says Wales. "Ultimately, we want a sound system that connects all of these rooms so that you could have breakout sessions."

The main attraction for a large event is, of course, the community room itself – a large space with tables to seat up to 150 people and a baby grand piano in the corner. If that's not quite enough, the Church of Christ sanctuary at one end can be temporarily repurposed.

A long table near the entrance features coffee-making facilities for visitors and can also be used to serve buffet-style meals.

This leads into a fully furnished kitchen, which can be used to cater even a full house of guests. A large sink, washer and dryer, a pantry, plenty of equipment and lots of workspace have been included to make it easy for several people to work together to prepare food for a large group.

Last – but certainly not least, when it comes to organizing a big gathering – is the large parking lot just outside the building.

The community room is different in feel and purpose to anything currently available in town and has the advantage, says Wales, of being accessible both to event organizers and people with lower levels of mobility because everything is on a single level.

The aim has always been to fill a need. Other venues may have the space, but not necessarily the decoration to fit the requirements of a large event.

"We want them to know there is a place here that can be the classy place they need," says fellow member of the renovation team Marci Havner.

"It's hard to decorate the basement of the courthouse or the gym at the school to make it look classy, but this is already – you can walk in and you don't have to do anything, just add your personality to it and you've got your event."

The overall feel of the interior is a calm and comforting elegance, with fresh paint on every wall and pristine décor.

"We've let the young women take the lead as far as design," Wales smiles.

On the afternoon of June 25, the Church of Christ will host an open house for the new space, beginning with short memorial for Marvin Massey, to whom the building will be dedicated.

"It's going to be called the Massey Community Room and our agenda is to gift it to the community, for the community's use," says Wales.

"We're going to invite the entire community to come and enjoy wonderful food, Todd Kahler will be sitting in the corner playing the piano, and we're going to show people what's here."

The dedication will honor the support that Marvin and his wife, Dorothy, gave to the project.

"Marvin and Dorothy Massey moved here after they retired and worked with the church and the community for 20 years. Marvin was on the land use planning board, Dorothy worked for the school in the music department – they were everywhere, they gave so much. When they turned 80, they moved to be closer to doctors. Marvin passed this last year and Dorothy we hope will be here, she lives in Texas now," Wales says.

"Marvin was the one who encouraged us to buy this. God gave us this opportunity, and so we bought it and he really masterminded the auditorium that we now use as a sanctuary."

The church family now hopes that the community room named in the Masseys' honor will be as open to the community as the couple themselves. A few future goals aside, the space is now open and the church family is excited to hear from friends and neighbors who would like to make use of it.

"We still have lots of projects. Churches of Christ are completely autonomous – there have been some outside donations, but most everything has come from our church family, so it's taken a long time," Wales says.

"We need the parking lot paved – that's going to be really expensive – and we need siding on the outside, but those things will have to wait. At this point, people can use it."

Exact costs and organization protocols are still a work in progress. Because the finishing touches have so recently been added, "We haven't got into detail on that," says fellow member of the renovation team Marci Havner.

However, she stresses that the church family is ready to welcome bookings of any and all kinds.

"There's probably going to be a cleaning fee, but this is not a money-making [enterprise]. We need to cover our costs, but this is not designed to make us money," says Wales.

To find out more or schedule a booking, contact Wales at 290-0137, Havner at 283-1024, Shelby Gill at 290-0687 or Kameryn Towell 307-277-7233.

 
 
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