“There’s been a few complaints but nothing major,” noted Wendell Walker, the church’s chairman of trustees. “It seems like we’re not doing anything, but we’re getting a lot done. They’re working inside, where people can’t see.”
Among those details are restoring the sanctuary’s southwest corner, where a tornado sent the tower crashing through the roof last October, he said.
Not only did workers have to rebuild the balcony and entrance to the education building, floor and ceiling joists had to be restored so a new roof can be installed, Walker added. He estimated work on the slate will not start until August.
In addition to the roof, all the sanctuary’s stained glass windows have been removed and will be repaired or replaced. The pipe organ has been shipped to Louisville, where a company is cleaning and replacing the pipes, and will construct a new console. A firm from Pennsylvania will send workers to Owensboro to replace or refinish pews; Byrd said about 30 were destroyed in the tornado.
Other work has included repairs to two walls in the gym. The facility will need a new roof to replace the one that has been patched extensively to allow the church to use it for worship. A new gym floor will be installed after the sanctuary is ready. The other project will be restoration of the three damaged stories of the bell tower.
Original repair estimates of $5 million have risen to at least $6.2 million. Byrd said he expects most of the cost to be covered by insurance, which has already paid about half of that amount.
To supplement that coverage, other churches and denominations have donated more than $15,000, which the pastor assured will be devoted to the renovation.
“We don’t know how much out of pocket money we’ll have to have,” Byrd noted. “There might be a few things we want to upgrade and we’ll use the money for that.”
Longtime member Ken Adkisson said the tornado was the worst damage to the main building since the congregation moved in just before Christmas of 1897. Since then, the church added an education wing in 1953 and a family life center (which includes the gym) in 1995.
The target date for completing the sanctuary renovations is two months longer than originally expected, which Adkisson attributed to weather.
“We’ve had a terrible winter trying to work,” he recalled. “With all the rain and snow we had, it didn’t help any.”
There have been other drawbacks to the damage. The church had to suspend Sunday night services and Byrd acknowledged that it has battled problems with the gym’s sound system.
“Our sanctuary is a terrific place to worship,” the pastor noted. “We have always been known for our high quality of worship and our music program. That’s been hard to duplicate.”
However, he said, members are thrilled that the renovation will result in improvements to the facilities.
Third Baptist is also fortunate that no one was injured when the storm struck while about 125 people were in the sanctuary for the Kentucky Council of Churches’ annual meeting, Byrd added.
The rebuilding has required considerable time for meetings with contractors, insurance adjustors and the restoration committee, but as far as the members’ attitude it has been a positive experience, the pastor acknowledged.
“The church has responded in such a way, that other than being a distraction and a hole in our roof in the sanctuary, it’s been okay,” Byrd said. “We all have learned to appreciate the sanctuary, but it’s not the church. As long as we can worship somewhere, we’re going to be OK.”
Western Recorder issue date: April 29, 2008
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