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Twin celebrations were conducted in Fairbanks and Anchorage on Sunday, July 25, 1999 in honor of the actual 100th anniversary date of the establishment of the Presbytery of Yukon, July 26, 1899. The Rev. Victor I. Alfesen was the featured speaker at both -- first at 10 am at the Alaskaland auditorium in Fairbanks and again at 6 pm at First Presbyterian Church in Anchorage.
In his years as Alaskan pastor, Rev. Alfesen served the United Protestant Church in Palmer, was the organizing pastor for First Presbyterian Church in Wasilla, and also served as pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Fairbanks. He spoke of assisting in the delivery of his first son at the manse in Palmer.
Congregants at First Presbyterian Church in Anchorage were doubly blessed July 25th, in that longtime Anchorage pastor Frank Walkup, now 92, delivered the morning sermon. The Rev. Walkup also attended the evening service.
The Rev. Frank Walkup, left, the Rev. Vic Alfsen and his wife Virginia at First Presbyterian Church, Anchorage.
Other special guests included former Presbytery executives Gordon Corbett and his wife Win of Monterey, CA, and Neil Munro and his wife Donna of Spokane.
The Rev. Dianne O'Connell, Presbytery Historian,
also delivered remarks during the Anchorage celebration regarding the origins of
the Presbyterian Church and its work in Alaska.