THE STEEPLE

With God's help, and yours, WE DID IT! We have raised the money and paid the bills. We stand in awe of God's goodness. Best of all, we have been blessed as a church and as a community in the effort.

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The steeple reconstruction is complete! The spire has been returned to the top, the steeple base has been painted, the new louvres installed and the lights have been fixed.

Thanks to all of you who contributed your prayers, time and money. The response from the community was overwhelming.

The information below describes the state of the steeple prior to this undertaking. Shortly we should have some pictures of the completed steeple for you.

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Driving by, glancing up at the steeple, it doesn't seem too bad. Sure, it needs some paint, but otherwise it still looks pretty good from a distance, especially on a bright, sunny day, framed against a clear blue sky.

As you look closer, however, you begin to see the problems. Some of the louvers at the base level are gone. The cornice at the roofline of the second tier, just below the spire, has suffered badly. We're told that the base of the steeple is in very good condition. However, the main framework of the spire rotted away many years ago due to water leakage. The rafters are now "propped up and relatively safe from collapse". The sheathing of the spire leaks badly, and there is deterioration of the cornice below the spire.


From up here, the rotting away of the old pine clapboards on the spire is evident. There are other trim and louvre repairs needed, and the roofing around the belfry and spire needs to be redone with more appropriate materials. Still, the structural problems, and the results of exposure to the elements and local pigeon population are most evident from inside. Click on the picture for an even closer look .


No, the church bell is not really white. The bird droppings are thick all through the various levels of the steeple. This will be one of the more challenging aspects of the clean-up part of the restoration. One of our goals is certainly to prevent future access by our feathered friends to the interior. I wonder if the bell will somehow ring louder or sound purer once it's cleaned?



The floor of the second tier is littered with the rotted splinters and sawdust of posts, beams and siding which have deteriorated over the years. Part of this is also due to the on-site repairs made over the years (see below).



We're looking up into the spire itself in this photo. It doesn't seem it from the ground, but the spire (the third and final stage of the steeple) is 18 feet tall! Over many years, as the original structure has weakened, attempts have been made to stabilize the steeple by cross bracing and various forms of reinforcement. One of the exterior corner posts is no longer load bearing, and has had to be replaced by a makeshift interior post.