Conway church to finally be rebuilt after 2017 tornado – The Recorder

CONWAY More than four years after its destruction, construction on a new building for the United Congregational Church of Conway will begin next month.

The church, which had been standing since 1885, was heavily damaged by a tornado that swept through Conway in February 2017. Initially, it was thought the damage could be repaired, but it was finally decided that it could not be salvaged and the church was razed in November 2018.

Bill Leno, the churchs renovation manager, said the insurance companys deliberation about the state of the building went on for months.

We had a real tough time with the insurance company and their engineers evaluating whether it was a loss or wasnt a loss, Leno said. Finally, they decided it was a total loss and that was in late 18. We finally took the building down.

Leno estimated the church spent $500,000 trying to save the building before engineers determined it would not be possible to repair it. He said the steeple was twisted off the building in such a way that it was not feasible to fix it.

After the initial struggle with deciding if the building could be repaired, the church ran into budget issues.

Leno said the designers had to make the windows smaller, eliminate landscaping around the building and cut out plans for a nice steeple because the church cannot afford those things right now.

Its involved many, many changes in the architectural plans because it started with $1.3 million and, of course, we couldnt afford it, Leno said. We finally got the value down to $1 million.

As the churchs future design solidified, Leno said he wanted to make the building more than a church by thinking of ways the community could host events there.

During this whole process of rebuilding the church, it has been the desire of the church membership to make sure we build this building so it is not only the church, but its a community meeting place for Conway, Leno said. A lot of our thinking and planning has gone into that fact, making sure we can accommodate the needs of the community agencies that need it.

The church received $1 million in insurance funds for its damages and Leno said all of that money is going to the reconstruction.

Were not supporting the church, paying for ministry or any other operational things, Leno said.

Construction, being led by Thayer Street Associates Inc. of South Deerfield, is planned to begin July 9 and the tentative completion date is February 2022 five years to the month after the churchs destruction.

After the tornado, the congregation began meeting at Conway Grammar School before the pandemic forced members to migrate to Zoom. As the town emerges from the pandemic, the church has been gathering for in-person services at a campground.

When we first went down, we used the elementary school. When they had a problem with their building with a roof, we housed the school at the church, Leno said. So when we got in trouble, the school housed us. It was a very nice exchange.

Despite not having a church to gather in and the departure of the Rev. Candi Ashenden, Leno said members have been dedicated in attending services.

The core group has continued to meet. Even though its been Zoom, theyre there and have been through it all, Leno said. That says a lot for the survival of the church. They dont have a building, they dont have a minister, they have a virus that put us in limbo and they still stuck together big time.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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Conway church to finally be rebuilt after 2017 tornado - The Recorder