Pastor D.E. Howe first contacted Alden B. Dow about the possibility of designing a new building for the growing congregation of the Midland Seventh-Day Adventist Church in early 1961.  Following a period of fund raising, sketches of the exterior and interior views of the new building were prepared in September of 1963.  The working drawings and specifications were completed by mid-November.  Stark Construction Company of Midland was selected as the general contractor.  The contract was signed on January 2, 1964 with the cost of construction listed as $65,075.

A tall peaked roof rises over the center of the structure and is flanked on either side by flat-roofed wings.  The façade is made almost entirely of 12-inch bevel wood siding, except for a tall tan brick chimney that stands over the entrance and in front of a recessed vertical window.  The exterior materials dominate the interior of the church as well, with walls of redwood boards and exposed roof planks supported by laminated wood beams.  There are raised wood planter boxes on either side of the pulpit.  

Behind the pulpit is a partial wall that serves as a screen to the baptistry area.  Just beyond and above the screen at the west wall are fixed clear glass windows set in a herringbone pattern.  There is seating for 240 in the nave.  On the north and south sides of the nave are the sabbath school classrooms for different age groups.  There was no provision for a social or fellowship hall or kitchen facilities in the original plans, those areas being deemed “not in harmony with a sacred church building.”

The dedication service was held on December 17, 1966.  In 1977 a large circular edge grain fir carving depicting the Three Angels of Revelation 14:6-12 was installed on the wall behind the pulpit.  The carving was done by Norman G. Moll, son of Harold W. Moll, chairman of the original church Building Committee. 

Did you know?  Appointments are welcome to view or study any of the Archives materials featured in this post and can be arranged by contacting us at archives@abdow.org.

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