Christie Oostema has family roots in the church but had never planned to stay until her husband came to the University of Utah for graduate school and they fell in love with the congregation. As with her mother before her, "this church had become our family," she said. It's a common sentiment among younger people, who come for school and end up finding a community they don't want to leave.

Many are so committed to the sense of belonging they have found that they have openly discussed moving closer to the church itself, and several have already done so, looking to re-create the sense of spiritual, emotional and geographic closeness that characterized the church at the outset. Small group dinners, a church softball team and choir, and the annual 150-mile bike ride for members all characterize the kinds of connection church members say makes friends become more akin to family.

Oostema serves on the church's governing board and said the congregation is also committed to its plan for expansion and renovation not only to provide space for a variety of members' ages and interests, but to provide space that can be used as something of a community center for the neighborhood in the 900 South 900 East area downtown.

So activities this weekend are not only looking to remember the past, but to celebrate the present and plan for the future through kicking off a $1.2 million fund-raising campaign to pay for the church's future expansion. They're welcoming all who want to join in, she said.

"We're talking about community in a broader context as well — the people we live near as well as those we work with, go to school with and interact with." Their vision of a community within an urban city has become a mirror of the "good ol' days," Oostema said, with a fully modern twist.

Church calendar

First Christian Reformed Church, 803 E. 900 South, will hold an open house today from 3 to 7 p.m., with a dinner buffet from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and an old fashioned hymn sing at 8 p.m. A celebration service is scheduled Sunday at 10 a.m., with a luncheon at 11 a.m. and a hike at 12:30 p.m.

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com