PRINCETON, WV (WOAY) – First Christian Church in Princeton is raising funds to renovate a sanctuary that has been around for 100 years.
The Church was originally completed in 1929. The brick that was used back then wasn’t designed to last more than 100 years. Fixing that brick, among other repairs, was the initial phase of this project.
“We have really been working to try to restore a lot of the damaged brick,” said First Christian Church Pastor Stephen Janning. “A lot of the leak roofage and stuff like that has been causing a problem for the church for quite some time. There’s quite a bit to do. We’ve finished the first phase. We’ve extended quite a bit to really get the worst of the worst done.”
The next phase in the renovation is to make the church more electrically efficient. The upcoming fundraiser is for installing new heat pumps and providing air conditioning to achieve that increased efficiency.
“We are working to hopefully raise funds to help not just restore the building, but to make it environmentally friendly,” Janning said. “(We want) to make it economical to operate and to restore it back to its original looks than it did when it was first built.”
Since the church is an important feature on Mercer Street, ensuring that these phases for the renovation run smoothly is important to the congregation and the surrounding community. While completion is still years away, raising funds to achieve this next phase is very important.
“It is a landmark for this community,” Janning said. “It’s an important historical structure in this neighborhood. I hope people appreciate it. When we started doing the work, we noticed people driving by, smiling, giving thumbs up, waving and making comments about the work that we’ve been doing. That’s encouraging.”
The Church will have a congregation-wide yard sale on August 1 to fund renovations.
