“Skeptics said it could never work,” wrote Gene Henderson this week about the 75th Anniversary observed by members of the Chapel in the Hills Interdenominational Church. “Bringing multiple denominations together to worship in harmony? They said it couldn’t be done.”
Henderson serves as the church’s historian and has chronicled its journey from an idea to a working reality for the last 75 years.
Last Sunday, the church celebrated the milestone by ringing bells, singing, preaching and feasting. Scott and Lynn Johnson, grandchildren of Parks and Louise Johnson who donated land for the building and were among the original founders, rang the brass bell on the church lawn, calling the congregation to worship. Following the service, the fellowship sang their trademark hymn, “Blest be the Tie that Binds,” by John Fawcett, as it has for the past 75 years.
The offering from the 11 a.m. service will be divided between the Wimberley Crisis Breadbasket and Barnabas Connection. It has been a long-standing tradition at Chapel in the Hills that 15% of all monies collected are returned to the community and to the world in the form of charitable contributions, except on special occasions, like the 75th anniversary, when 100% of the offering is given to designated recipients.
“What began as an unorthodox idea in the minds of a few bold Wimberley residents in 1949, continues strong and true in 2024, honoring the past, embracing the future,” wrote Henderson.
