Her prayers were answered. "God gave us a beautiful day. It was such a success," Shultz says.

On Jan. 5, the congregation at West Valley marked the beginning of their church's golden anniversary year with a service featuring bagpipers and the unfurling of banners made especially for the occasion. The date served as a kickoff for nearly a full year of activities commemorating the church's growth from a small building amid farms and ranches to a sprawling congregation that reaches far beyond Cupertino.

West Valley began in a very different Cupertino in 1954. Various families, including the DiNapolis and Ghiradellis, owned orchards at the corner of Miller Avenue and Bollinger Road where the church currently sits. "We have pictures of this corner with absolutely nothing on it," Shultz says. The San Jose Presbytery had recommended establishing a church in the area, but until there were 50 charter members, the national organization wouldn't recognize the request.

Instead, they sent a bona fide cowboy preacher named Rev. Roy Nelson from Montana to wrangle the congregation into shape. The first church members worshipped in a Tantau ranch home and founded what was then called the Cupertino Presbyterian Church on July 11, 1954, with 57 charter members, four of whom still attend the church today. Shultz says one of the church's original couples has collected memorabilia over the years. "We ransacked their house," she says.

The first church building wasn't completed until 1957, so the early days were difficult. "We take for granted what we have now, but they had to borrow chairs from a mortuary for services," Shultz says. Male members of the church even provided physical labor during construction.

Over the years, the church grew with the surrounding populace. Rancho Rinconada was just one of the subdivisions that replaced nearby orchards, and Hyde Middle School was built on Ghiradelli family land directly abutting the church's property. West Valley constructed various buildings, including its current sanctuary, which was completed in 1966. The church was renamed in 1984 in concert with the wider range of its congregation.

Over the past 25 years, church membership has hovered at around 400 members. "We're supported very well. We're staffed for a church three times our size," says Dr. Rev. Ronald McHattie, West Valley's pastor. "When people hear about the extent of our services, they assume [our membership] is much larger than it is." West Valley has been heavily involved in community-service projects, both in Santa Clara County and abroad, for much of its existence.

While Rev. McHattie says the church continues to attract new members, the high cost of living in the Cupertino area has bled worshippers away. The church is also hoping to venture into the local real estate market to sustain its own staff. "The whole makeup of the church is changing," says the Rev. McHattie. "We still want to be relevant to our community.

West Valley has seen a more diverse group of people filling the pews every Sunday, but the local origins of parishioners have also expanded with the construction of roads like Highway 85. "They come from as far north as Mountain View and as far south as the Almaden Valley," he says.

These changes are just one aspect West Valley is celebrating this year. Activities range from a Celebration of Marriage on Feb. 8, which will honor all couples married at West Valley, to a 1950s-themed picnic on July 11 complete with patty melts and poodle skirts. Shultz says her committee followed suggestions from the national Presbyterian Church for anniversary activities, but spread them out from January to September to accommodate the church's busy members.

Both Shultz and Rev. McHattie say West Valley's anniversary is a great opportunity to honor the church's traditions, which they describe as "a family of faith, hope and love."

"This year, we're celebrating what God has been doing on this corner for the past 50 years," Shultz says.