Restoration is complete and the steeple looks fantastic! Many thanks to everyone involved! This was a costly project and we had tremendous financial and moral support to make it happen. As expected, the steeple needed a lot of repairs after 81 years of weathering the elements. A fresh coat of paint was applied to the front face of the church as well, and many pounds of bird droppings were removed from the belfry.

The weathervane has also been repaired and refurbished, with a new coat of gold leaf and added gold balls, and will be mounted on a new stainless steel mounting post. The weathervane will be reinstalled in the next couple of months.

You may notice that we had to remove the remaining window in the lantern and board up the opening. Sadly, the remaining window was beyond saving. Closing up the window openings for now will keep water from the interior of the structure. While it may not look like it from the ground, the steeple windows are 4 feet in diameter! We have found a vendor willing to craft windows to match the legacy windows, and we even think we can do it within the remaining budget for the project. This will take time as this vendor is significantly backlogged. We will keep the congregation informed as we move forward.

Special thanks go to Bruce Hall for shepherding us through this project.

You might also notice the new sign in front of the church, which replaces the one that succumbed to last autumn’s microburst. Many thanks to Vince Aquilino for taking on this project. With the landscaping work headed by Robin Fleming and team, it all looks so wonderful.

Stacy Spies, UUCSW Board Liaison to Buildings and Grounds Committee