The United Church is celebrating 120 years in Olds with an exhibit at the Mountain View Museum and Archives.
The collection is on display until Nov. 27 and features relics such as a baptismal font, garments and blueprints for the existing church building, dated October 1959.
On Nov. 14, the museum held a reception to mark the anniversary, screening a video outlining the history of the church's presence in Olds.
The United Church's roots in town can be traced back to 1900, when Methodists erected a building for religious services at a cost of $1,800.
This building was overcrowded by 1911 and was sold and moved across the street in favour of a new building. Today, the original building hosts a hair salon.
In 1925, the United Church of Canada was formed after the union of Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches.
The third United Church building, which exists in Olds to this day, was constructed in 1959 and opened the next year at a cost of $76,000, according to the museum video.
Volunteer labour by the congregation helped keep the costs down, said Mary Hays, a longtime member who serves on the church's anniversary committee.
Church members mostly worked on the building's interior, painting, building pews, installing carpet, windows and varnishing archways — an endeavour that brought people closer together, Hays said.
The Olds United Church's mission statement is, “Family of Faith, Spiritually Motivated, Welcoming and Caring.”
Staying true to those principles through community and missions work has been key to the church's longevity.
