Walton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) A church damaged by fire in 1961 still bears the scars of that blaze. But, parishoners are banding together to heal them.
This Delaware County church is under restoration.
The Christ Episcopal Church is making a pilgrimage through time. It starts in 1961 when it suffered from a serious fire.
"The church itself was saved, but it's been an ongoing problem since," said Rev. Sue Cole.
The problem is still quietly kept in the bell tower, where you can still see the charred wood and remains from that fire.
Some signs are seen outside, too.
"That is due to water damage where it was charred so deeply that its not salvageable," said Lee Liddle from Second Nature Construction. "All of that wood will be replaced."
Work must be done carefully. Christ Episcopal is on the National Register of Historic Places.
It is the oldest public meeting building in the Village of Walton and the heart of a faithful congregation.
"Every person in this church feels that this is a true church family, and we are stewards of this building," said parishoner Lynda Hitt. "We are responsible for the maintenance of this building."
"The major portion of the total is coming out of our small church body here with commitments from some parishioners of $10,000," said parishoner Jim Bell.
People outside the church have also donated.
Patchwork has been done over the years to other damaged areas.
But as far as a project this big goes, "it really needed to be done," Rev. Cole said. "If we don't do this now it would cost even more money. And it's costing enough as it is!"
But, it's not too much money for people who want to see their church resurrected to its former glory.
The total cost of the restorations is about a quarter of a million dollars.
The church received some grant money.
Work will still continue in restoring other areas of the church.
Click on our photo gallery for images of the 1961 fire.
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