Note #9099 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06057 Feb. 3, 2006
A New Jersey resurrection
Burned-down church will rise from the ashes on Easter Sunday
by Evan Silverstein
LOUISVILLE - Four years after a fire destroyed the sanctuary of West Side Presbyterian Church, in Ridgewood, NJ, the congregation is preparing to return home.
A new sanctuary built to replace the one destroyed by fire is expected to be worship-ready by Easter Sunday.
"We still think Easter is a very good possibility," said the Rev. Mike Pulsifer, West Side's pastor. "We may have workers in there, finishing painting, the Saturday before Easter. Everything won't be absolutely completed, but we think the building will be useable."
The new sanctuary will seat 688 worshippers and have 40 percent more floor space than the previous building, Pulsifer said. He said West Side averages about 500 Sunday worshippers.
It will also be fully handicapped-accessible and have better acoustics and lighting.
In addition to rebuilding the 82-year-old, Gothic-style stone sanctuary, the new $25 million "sanctuary complex" includes construction of an auditorium, meeting rooms, choir-rehearsal rooms, a kitchen/dining room, and a new 98-seat chapel.
Pulsifer said the new building is about 75 percent finished.
"The walls, roof, everything is on," he said. "It's just the interior finishes that we're working on."
The fire on Jan. 8, 2002 was caused by an electrical malfunction. It gutted the sanctuary, an auditorium and a brand-new chapel on the third floor of the Christian education building.
The 45-year-old education building, which sustained heavy smoke and water damage, was refurbished and reopened in June 2003.
The fire caused damage estimated at more than $10 million and drew firefighters from 11 departments. West Side, which is about 17 miles northwest of New York City, had just finished a $3 million renovation.
"This has been a very challenging time in the life of our church, because we have not had a sacred space for years," Pulsifer said. "It's been like wandering in the desert in a lot of ways, or wandering in the wilderness. It has been hard. But the congregation has stuck with us."
Members of the church, which was organized in 1912, unanimously voted to rebuild. The congregation broke ground on the new complex on April 18, 2004.
Architects Herbert S. Newman and Partners of New Haven, CT, designed the new church. Turner Construction Company did the building. The new structure's cornerstone, bearing the inscription "Easter 2006," was dedicated on Sept. 18, 2005.
After the fire, prayers, offers of assistance and contributions poured in from around the country by telephone, mail and email and through the church's Web site, www.westside.org.
More than $200,000 was received in contributions from individuals, churches and synagogues, according to Emily P. Aumiller, communications chair of the rebuilding steering committee.
"The outpouring of generosity has warmed our hearts," she said.
In addition, West Side raised nearly $5 million on its own to help with rebuilding expenses, Aumiller said.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) sent $10,000 from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
Aumiller said the new sanctuary evokes memories of the previous church by replicating a prominent Good Shepherd tri-form Gothic tracery window at the end of the chancel.
The stained-glass window will be the focal point of the new sanctuary, which has been turned 90 degrees on the site. The new orientation allows for a larger nave, greater seating capacity and a convenient entryway across from the parking lot.
A tower topped with a zinc-coated cross stands to the left of the new entryway. Skylights, clerestory windows and a community gallery will introduce daylight into the new worship space.
Since the fire, West Side church, using space volunteered by neighboring churches, synagogues, and schools, has maintained a full program of worship, education and missions.
Officials of the church, which has 1,449 members on its rolls, said they were especially grateful to the Immaculate Heart Academy of Washington Township, NJ, a Catholic girls' school that hosted Sunday worship services, Good Friday, Christmas Eve and other special programs during the past four years.
"I think what we have learned more than anything else through all of this, God has taken care of us," Pulsifer said. "God has provided. We don't know all of the steps yet, but God has shown us the next step and the next step, and through the kindness and generosity of many others and hard work of our congregation, God has provided."
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