Ada church rising after fire

An architects rendering of what the new Ada First United Methodist Church will look like. Construction on the project is expected to begin on March 17 and continue until February, 2015. Enlarge Published: Tuesday, 2/25/2014 - Updated: 18 hours ago

BY VANESSA McCRAY BLADE STAFF WRITER

ADA, Ohio A new Ada First United Methodist Church soon will rise from the ashes where the congregations 113-year-old church burned in 2012.

Two years after a March, 2012, fire destroyed the church at the corner of North Main Street and Highland Avenue, construction will begin on its replacement, a two-story, brick-and-stone building designed with nods to both the past and future.

Weather permitting, work is scheduled to begin March 17 on the new church. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for noon March 30, and both church and community members are invited. Construction is scheduled to end in February, 2015.

Robert McCurdy, chairman of the churchs building committee, said specific details remain to be worked out, but parishioners would like to worship in the new building by the fires third anniversary.

The decision to rebuild on the same site as the old church, located at one end of the Hardin County villages downtown area, was welcomed by those outside the 300-member congregation as well.

We hear that all the time from townspeople, Oh, Im so happy that the church is going back there, Mr. McCurdy said.

The congregation still needs to raise $300,000 to $400,000 for the $6 million building project, to be paid for with contributions from church members, donations from other churches and supporters, and insurance proceeds.

The 25,000-square-foot building features a second-floor sanctuary that will seat 240 people and a commercial kitchen and fellowship hall on the first floor. Theres also room for childrens ministry and Christian education programs.

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Ada church rising after fire