Considered a miracle by the church’s pastor, a new steeple has been erected on the Sheepscot Valley Community Church through the efforts of its congregation, a grant and a donation from a Whitefield couple.
According to the Rev. Lester Dancer, the steeple at the church, located at the corner of Townhouse Road and Pittston Road in Whitefield, was raised May 21. The steeple’s replacement comes a little more than four years after the original steeple was ordered removed from what was then the Whitefield Union Church.
In 2009, an inspection by the town’s code enforcement officer determined the aging steeple was unsafe and it needed to come down.
Whitefield resident and church member Roger Downs said the steeple removal, left the building’s roof unprotected, which caused further damage to the building, including leakage.
The original plan for the repair was to take the remaining decayed belfry down right to the roof and cap it off, Downs said. According to Lester, the church’s members, with the help of a grant from the Maine Baptist Association, raised $14,000 for the original project.
Downs said he and wife Rochelle desired to see the church have a steeple and offered a an additional $14,000 to make it happened.
“We just wanted to see a steeple on the church,” Roger Downs said. “It really was an effort of the community.”
With the congregation’s approval, Downs said he and contractor Troy Prescott made three inspections of the remaining structure. After the removal of 17 barrels of pigeon droppings, the two discovered significantly more damage that originally noted.
“He gave a fair quote to do the work,” Downs said. “I wouldn’t have trusted just anyone to do the work. Troy is an honest person and I know we were working with good people.”
According to Downs, the steeple made of fiberglass arrived in September 2013. The original plan was to put the steeple up last fall, however with the quick arrival and long duration of winter, the steeple replacement was delayed until spring.
“To me this is the miracle of Kings Mills. A steeple was not important to me. I just wanted to make certain that the church wouldn’t die,” Dancer said.
