OUR HISTORY
Just after the end of World War II, Carmel Valley activity was centered in Robles del Rio, and the Village area was just beginning to sprout commercial life. The need for a church in the Carmel Valley village area became apparent when Sunday School classes were started in the garage and on the lawn of Col. and Mrs. Vernon Post on Lower Circle. About a year later, they shifted to Frank De Amaral's historic White Oaks Barn and finally to the home of Raymond "Pete" and Jean Danielson. The dream of a church building became closer when Clarence and Henrietta Holman donated four lots on Village Drive, and hard-working volunteers started plans for the building.
On March 4, 1946, the incorporation of the "Robles Del Rio Community Chapel" occurred. Meetings were held in the "Bean Pot", a coffee shop co-owned by a Tularcitos school teacher, Marion Kittrell and her sister. It was Miss Kittrell who brought everyone together who wanted to build a church. The group met in the De Amaral barn behind Los Laureles Lodge while the warm weather lasted, because it turned out to be too windy to hold outdoor services on the lot given by the Holmans. In the fall, the meetings moved to the Danielson living room. The group considered affiliation with different Protestant groups but Miss Kittrell "argued persuasively for a nondenominational community chapel."
In January of 1949, the trustees met to discuss the building of a church and with cash on hand of $119.79, decided to go ahead. Groundbreaking for the new church took place on July 10, 1949, on the land donated by the Holmans, with the stipulation that a regular Sunday service be held by the end of December, 1949. Ed
Mayfield and Pete Danielson (with help from many enthusiastic volunteers) poured the cement floor, hoisted beams and laid adobe bricks manufactured on Flight Road. On Christmas Day 1949, the Chapel, with two Sunday School rooms and two restrooms, was dedicated in a service held with Rev. Harris Pillsbury and Rev. John R. Wright presiding.
Additions, renovations and improvements have taken place over the years. The appearance of the Chapel was greatly enhanced in 1981 when a steeple was put in place thanks to a generous memorial donation by Phyllis Shultz. Another memorial donation was the renovation and completion of Friendship Circle, funded in memory of Marjorie McKiernan by her daughter Patti McKiernon Freeman. Between 1990 and the present, much refurbishment of the sanctuary has been done. Landscaping and a labyrinth embellish the entrance to the Chapel.