This past winter was a sweat-filled one for Kirby and Carol Leland of Maxwell, who, in the weeks following Thanksgiving and leading up to Easter, worked tirelessly to ready their new home - the former Maxwell Church of the Brethren.
      Kirby said his brother came over the weekend right after Thanksgiving and helped him tear out a wall and work on insulation before the contractor, Wilkerson Construction of Ames, started on the project.
      By Easter, the main level of the home had been completed, just in time for a Leland family holiday gathering. That Easter get-together was followed by an April 26 gathering that included the last of the remaining church members when the church closed: Betty Enfield and John and Carol Beal. Also attending were former pastor Harold Smith and his wife, Louise, and Louise's sister, Joan, and her husband Leroy Wilson, who were visiting from Missouri, and former organist, Jerry Howell. Invited, but unable to attend, were former church members Lyle and Karen Wheeler.
      On what turned out to be a stormy Sunday, the group met for lunch and visiting, prior to a bigger open house later that day. Former church members shared their joy of seeing that the church had been remodeled so beautifully. During the visit, former Pastor Smith presented the Lelands with a special picture of the Maxwell Church of the Brethren with a passage on it from Romans 16:5: "Greetings to the church that meets in your house."
      The open house later in the day, Kirby said, was for any members of the Northern Plains District of the Church of the Brethren who wanted to come and see the transformation of the old Maxwell church. Despite the weather, about 80-90 people visited.
      "Everyone who came, regardless of the direction they traveled, had a torrential downpour experience to tell. We did hear from a couple parties that stayed home due to the weather," Kirby said.

A beautiful home
      When walking into what used to be the doors to the church sanctuary, visitors mostly smile when seeing the fantastic home that now appears - complete with pine hardwood floors covering all but the entryway and bathroom, a stunning staircase and lofted area, beautiful furnishings, a modern kitchen and of course, those massive arched windows. It is not hard to see why Kirby and Carol say they love the way this project has turned out.
      Kirby said their home is the third church that Randy Wilkerson, of Wilkerson Construction, has remodeled. "We're very happy with their work," Kirby said, noting that he hired Wilkerson after his neighbors said they were pleased with the work the contractor had done for them. "He's very particular," Kirby said.
      For Kirby, the attention to detail on this project was very important, because this building was, after all, the church his parents (Thelma and Arnold Leland, now of Cambridge) were married in and he was baptized in, not to mention that he was a member of the church from the time he was born until sometime after he finished college, around 1975. "It's a little surreal," he said of turning his childhood church into his home.
      But Kirby and his wife wanted to do it. "It was kind of a challenge," he said. Kirby said there were a lot of misgivings for him about the fact that the church wouldn't be a church anymore, but he knew the building needed to be saved, and making it into his home was the best way to save it.
      "I wanted to do as little changing of the basic architecture as possible, and I feel we have accomplished that goal," he said. "We aren't interested in disguising that the building was once a church. We tried to work with the original purpose and design and leave the basics, such as windows, entrance, roofline, etc., unaltered."
      What they created, and what Carol loves most about her new dwelling, is "an atmosphere that is calming and peaceful."
      Kirby said he is waiting until next winter to work on the basement of their home. He still has a couple more projects to conquer ahead of that - the roof and exterior of the building.
      "The basement will be more labor-intensive and require fewer dollars (than the exterior work)," he said. The Lelands plan to turn some of the basement into a recreation area. "We are both table tennis players, so we are using one room for playing on the table that came with the property," he said.
      As for the price tag on their new home, Kirby hasn't really figured the total cost out. "We don't have the final bill yet, but we're trying to keep it down to a comparable amount to what other homes in the neighborhood might be valued."
      The Lelands say they love living in Maxwell and plan to hold a community open house sometime after the installation of their new roof.