wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] New Jersey church rebuilding after fire

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Note #7809 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

New Jersey church rebuilding after fire
03256
June 5, 2003

New Jersey church rebuilding after fire

Education building opens; plans for new sanctuary going forward
 
by Evan Silverstein 

LOUISVILLE - Eighteen months after a fire destroyed the sanctuary of  West
Side Presbyterian Church, of Ridgewood, NJ, members of the congregation had
something to celebrate on June 1. 

	That's when the 1,500-member church in northern New Jersey officially
dedicated its newly renovated Christian Education building, a 45-year-old
structure that had been closed since it sustained heavy smoke and water
damage on Jan. 8, 2002. 

	About 400 church members, staff and supporters toured the restored
three-story education building between the congregation's two Sunday worship
services and afterward as part of an open house and dedication ceremony. 

	While the 90-year-old congregation continues holding regular services
at a nearby Catholic girls school, West Side's nursery school, which had been
operating at another location, moved back into its old digs on Feb. 24. Staff
offices, as well as meeting spaces for the congregation, reopened there in
March. 

	"It's been a very good homecoming," said elder Emily P. Aumiller,
West Side's communications chair for the rebuilding effort. "I had a very
good feeling about the Spirit moving through the building (during the open
house)."

	Refurbishing the Christian Education building, at a cost of $2.5
million, was covered entirely by insurance. Work included new wiring
throughout the building, a new roof and reconfiguration of offices, new
central heating and cooling systems, new carpet and tile in the hallways, and
a fresh coat of paint on the interior. 

	"All the teachers and children were so excited about coming into
their new classrooms, with bright windows and a playground outside," Aumiller
said. 

	Last year's fire, sparked by an electrical malfunction and battled by
11 area fire departments, caused damage estimated at more than $10 million.
At the time, Aumiller said, West Side had just completed a $3 million capital
campaign, with $1.8 million used for renovation of the Christian Education
building. 

	In the months since the fire, West Side parishioners, using space
volunteered by neighboring churches and synagogues, have maintained church
programs without interruption. Activities had been scattered among more than
a dozen sites in four towns.  

	Now many of the programs located elsewhere will return to West Side
Presbyterian, the largest congregation in Palisades Presbytery. 

	"This will provide us with a tremendous amount of meeting room and
will cut down on the number of venues we are in," said elder Bob Hanft, chair
of the rebuilding steering committee. "I think this will take us from 14
different venues down to five."

	After the fire, prayers, offers of assistance and contributions to a
rebuilding fund poured in from around the country, by telephone, mail and
email, and through the church's Web site, www.westside.org.

	Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) sent $10,000 from the One
Great Hour of Sharing offering to West Side just after the fire, which
attracted local and national media attention. Since then, total contributions
have grown to $160,000. 

	The Rev. Mike Pulsifer, West Side's pastor, said the congregation
"continues to be profoundly grateful for the hospitality, support, and
prayers of our neighboring churches and other groups, including the
Presbytery of the Palisades." 

	Other key steps toward rebuilding have come about since last year's
fire.  

	Proposed plans for rebuilding the congregation's gutted 82-year-old,
Gothic-style stone sanctuary were filed in March with the Zoning Board of the
Village of Ridgewood, which is expected to take at least four months to
review. Negotiations continue on an insurance settlement. 

	"It's a big lump of clay," said Hanft of rebuilding plans. "Slowly
but surely we are beginning to shape it." 

	Last July, architects Herbert S. Newman & Partners, of New Haven, CT,
were selected to design and rebuild the sanctuary. The firm was instructed to
develop alternatives to conceptual designs that would reduce the project's
estimated $22 million price tag.  

	A committee to consider how to pay for the rebuilding has been formed
to explore financing the difference between anticipated insurance settlement
and actual construction. A fund-raising campaign is also planned, though no
official date has been set. 
 

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