Renovations at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church press on with community support

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) -

Behind the towers of scaffolding and dark plastic wrapping that mask St. Matthew's Lutheran Church are dozens of construction workers, committed to bringing the aging and dilapidated sanctuary back to life.

Renovations of the St. Matthew's Lutheran Church sanctuary at 405 King Street began in September 2013, but the initial idea was presented roughly three years ago.

Biemann Othersen, President of the Congregational Council at the church, says architecture firms were called in to inspect the church after signs of wear and tear became visible on the building next to the sanctuary. But one of the firms noticed an even more glaring issue after looking at the church from the roof of a nearby parking garage.

"When MCA Architecture came and made their presentation they said, 'We don't know why you're looking at this building, because your sanctuary needs a lot of work,'" Biemann recalled.

Torn shingles, holes in the roof, and water damage were just some of the issues architects discovered while inspecting the sanctuary. The initial estimate for the sanctuary renovations was set at $6.2 million with a completion date of November 2014, according to a capital campaign document drafted in 2012.

Those numbers would quickly change.

We were pretty much on target until we had the stucco problem, says Janelle Othersen, who is the chair of the renovation committee.

Janelle says workers were removing a protective, waterproof covering from the walls the coating was added during an earlier renovation as a safeguard, but ended up keeping water that had leaked in through the roof inside the walls when they decided to check on the strength of the stucco on the outside of the building.

They were checking the stucco around the building by slightly tapping it, as it was adhered to the bricks, and it just started crumbling, says Janelle. The more they tapped, the more it crumbled.

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Renovations at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church press on with community support