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A Brief History of the Alton-Wood River IL Congregation

of the Community of Christ



As the Wood River IL congregation reaches another turning point in our long and storied history, I thought it would be interesting to “briefly” recount the history as I have discovered it and lived it. Most of what I am including below is from a history compiled from historian records by Marian Cunningham in 1993. Some is based on my own and others personal memory.

As early as 1871 there are records of members of the RLDS church meeting in homes of the Alton area. The Saints Herald of May 1, 1871, indicates that 9 members were registered as holding worship services. Through the intervening years members continued meeting and on May 17, 1912, a Branch was formally organized, under the leadership of Apostle J. F. Curtis, with a registered membership of 27 individuals. The branch was formally known as the Alton IL branch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This early branch met in a variety of places until April 27, 1913, when a hall was acquired at Second and Central in Alton. During subsequent years District Conferences, Missionary Services, and Reunions were hosted by the Alton Branch members on behalf of the St. Louis District.

The members met continuously through the early to mid-1900s at a variety of places including homes until they acquired and moved into a church building in Wood River, IL at 5^th and Lorena Streets in 1951. They continued to meet in this building until February 24, 1974, when the building was sold, and construction started, on a new building on Hwy 111 (2001 Vaughn Rd) north of Wood River IL. In June 1975 the members moved into their new church home where they have continued to meet until today.

In our history the congregation has merged twice with a Granite City congregation and spun-off a new mission in Troy IL which later became the Maryville IL congregation. We have engaged with and supported other ministries in the Riverbend Area – Food Crisis Center, Operation Blessing, Riverbend Family Ministries, Bucket Brigade (a community betterment and improvement initiative). Our support has included volunteer labor, donations of food and clothing, and of course generous monetary donations. We have additionally provided ministry and worship opportunities to assisted living facilities and Senior Care facilities. We even sponsored an adult church league softball team.

As of August 15, 2023, the members will once again move, this time back to their previous church at 5^th & Lorena in Wood River at least through 2023. The current church building no longer meets the needs of the congregation, so it has become expedient to find other facilities. After that a decision will need to be made whether they continue at the “Wood River Historic Wedding Chapel”, seek another venue, or merge with another congregation.

I note a few last names of those who through the years have been instrumental in the congregation’s history – Bunt, Hambleton, Kincade, Loyd, Shoup, Archibald, Warford, Bogart, Anderson, Slocum, Felton, Amick, Heaviland, Ferguson, Giddings. In recent years these names have been augmented by many others – Ahern, Cunningham, Murphey, Faulkner, Windland, Day, Wolf / DeRossett, Smith, Paradine, Keef, Herman, Welborn, Hogue, McKane and others too many to list.

Our long history shows the congregation has moved seamlessly from place to place as needs and circumstances have dictated, so we will continue to do so. Hopefully, this latest move is merely one more destination in our journey to serve the Christ in the Riverbend area.

Rick McKane, Pastor

Wood River IL Congregation

Community of Christ

Upcoming Online Classes through CIMM:

The Center for Innovation in Ministry and Mission (CIMM) through the Graceland University Community of Christ Seminary has opened the following classes for enrollment:

Fall A Session (Aug. 28 - Oct. 22): 

• Ministry of the Elder:  $25
• Ministry of the Priest:  $25
• Introduction to Priesthood Ministry:  $25

Note: The Christian Ministry Certificate class planned for this session has been postponed to give a session break to our students. We will continue these classes in the Fall B session.

To enroll or for more information on these classes and the certificate programs, please visit our website at: www.graceland.edu/CIMM.