wfn.org | Episcopalians: Quincy's oldest congregation determined to rebuild after fire

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

August 26, 2002

2002-197

Episcopalians: Quincy's oldest congregation determined to 
rebuild after fire

by Jan Nunley

(ENS) St. John's Episcopal Church, the "historic mother church" 
of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy which celebrated its 150th 
birthday this year, was gutted by a five-alarm fire caused by 
lightning early August 23, sustaining major damage. 

"It's a shell," said Quincy bishop Keith Ackerman of the 
structure, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. 
"You think of a typical Anglo-Catholic church building, it's 
this one. And it's gone."

A severe thunderstorm, with lightning and heavy rain, passed 
through Quincy early on the morning of the fire, which started 
about 5 a.m. Assistant fire chief Dan Rottman said metal beams 
hanging above the sanctuary had to be removed before 
firefighters and investigators could safely work inside the 
building.

"I'm surprised the fire was so well contained," Dave Schlembach, 
an architect who also is a church member, told the Quincy 
Herald-Whig. "The sanctuary is completely gone, but with the 
exception of water and smoke damage, everything else is pretty 
much unscathed. The roof structure is gone, but the walls appear 
to be in good shape."

Priceless artwork destroyed

The most heavily damaged part of the structure was the portion 
built in 1877. A hand-carved reredos, created by Bavarian 
craftsmen, was hit by burning timbers from the roof. The 
building's two Tiffany stained glass windows were damaged and 
the organ was lost. Firefighters kept the blaze away from a 
chapel on the north end of the building and the administration 
area of the church, which houses an early education center.

Ackerman said a painting called "Final Harvest" that hung 
behind the altar was also lost, along with the bishop's chair 
with the names of each bishop of the diocese carved into it. 
Miraculously, he added, three items survived: a wooden 
tabernacle containing consecrated bread from the Eucharist; a 
crucifix given to Ackerman at his ordination, which he had 
donated to the church in memory of his parents; and a statue of 
Our Lady of Walsingham, which he had also donated. Soot from the 
fire formed "a tear" at the corner of Mary's eye, Ackerman said.

The church is the oldest church structure in Quincy, Illinois 
and has served as cathedral for the diocese of Illinois, which 
was divided into the Dioceses of Quincy, Chicago and Springfield 
in 1877, as well as for the Diocese of Quincy until 1962. The 
Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, which covers most of west-central 
Illinois, has 4,000 members at eight parishes and 16 missions. 

The structure was the subject of a dispute in the 1990s 
between the Diocese of Quincy and a breakaway faction of 
parishioners dissatisfied with the national Episcopal church. In 
an out-of-court settlement, the diocese retained the property 
and some of the parish's funds, while the breakaway group formed 
a congregation affiliated with the Anglican Church in America 
(ACA), a "continuing Anglican" church body, with the remaining 
funds and some of the church's liturgical treasures.

Rebuilding planned

Ackerman celebrated Mass at noon the day after the fire in the 
parish hall, telling the congregation that "as precious as the 
building is, we are going to be the church."

"The parish is determined to rebuild through the grace of the 
Holy Spirit," said Tad Brenner, the parish's senior warden and a 
diocesan deputy to General Convention. 

"There is no question that this church will be rebuilt," 
Kirby Eber, the parish's junior warden, told the Quincy 
Herald-Whig. "I'm sure it will be as close to a restoration as 
possible."

This is not the first time the 200-member parish has suffered 
a fire. Another blaze damaged the church's Cathedral Hall in 
1985.

Plans to replace the organ, valued at $400,000, were in the 
works before the fire. The bell tower, which contains a rare 
11-bell carillon, "seems intact, but the jury is still out," 
Schlembach said.

------

A restoration/rebuilding fund has been established at the 
church:

Saint John's Church

701 Hampshire St.

Quincy, Il 62301

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of Episcopal News 
Service. Information used in this report was derived in part 
from stories by Edward Husar and Deborah Gertz Husar of the 
Quincy Herald-Whig and Jodi Pospeschil of the Peoria 
Journal-Star.