On the move River City Wesleyan Church converts facility into new home

Members of River City Wesleyan Church had been praying for years that God would lead them to a vacant building in a Bangor neighborhood.

They wanted to be part of the community and be able to minister to their neighbors.

Three weeks ago, members held their first service at their new home at 146 Center St.

It’s the space where The Salvation Army operated its thrift shop for years. The thrift shop moved into a former hardware store earlier this year near Broadway Shopping Center.

The church’s new home is a block from Broadway Park and borders the Division and Market streets neighborhood. While Center Street is not as heavily traveled as is Outer Hammond Street, the church now is in a more visible location than it was at its previous Chapel Hill location.

“I’ve already met at least six people from the neighborhood who’ve come to services,” said Neil Lucier of Dedham after a recent Sunday service. “We pray that keeps growing.”

The Rev. Stephen Sinclair, 49, the church’s pastor, said he called the building’s owner when he saw a for-lease sign in the window while driving by one day.

“It’s exciting to be in a neighborhood,” he said Sunday. “There’s a lot of traffic, a lot of activity here. We hope to integrate with the community.”

This summer, Webber Energy Fuels began giving the building a $100,000 face-lift after The Salvation Army moved out. The company, which has owned the building for years, gutted the inside of the 9,000-square-foot space, put on a new roof and installed new windows and siding.

The church renovated 6,500 square feet while Webber uses the remaining 3,500 square feet for storage. The adjacent parking lot is expected to be repaved by the end of the year, according to Sinclair.

River City doubled its space by moving. The church also does not have to share space as it did at Chapel Hill. There, churchgoers had to set up and take down chairs and equipment before and after every meeting. The new space can be used at the convenience of church members, and the pastor has an office on site.

Church members donated all the labor to convert the former garage. They began work the first week of August and finished up less than 12 hours before the first service. That Sunday morning, however, was not the first time church members prayed at 146 Center St., Lucier said.

“The first day we came in to paint the [sanctuary] ceiling, I thought there’s no way we can do this,” he said. “Then, the Monday night before the grand opening, we were working on the tile floor in the foyer and ran into a problem.

“I worked all night that Friday and into Saturday afternoon to finish it,” Lucier said. “All that time the Lord was speaking to me about all the imperfections in this building and about the people in the church, who aren’t perfect either. … Now I look at that plug on the wall and see space all around it and I don’t care any more. That’s not the point. As long as you’re with Jesus, it doesn’t matter where you are.”

The completed renovation includes a 150-seat sanctuary, a combined kitchen and fellowship room where Sunday school classes are held, a nursery, the pastor’s office and office space for a secretary.

Peter Leong of Veazie has been attending River City Wesleyan almost since it held its first service on Father’s Day in 1995.

“We’ve waited a long time for this,” Leong said. “I’m excited, not only about moving into our own building, but about moving into a neighborhood and being part of a community.”

River City Wesleyan Church services are 10 a.m. Sundays at 146 Center St., Bangor. For information, call 990-1711 or e-mail rivercity@gwi.net.

The Wesleyan Church

The Wesleyan Church is an evangelical Protestant denomination with about 3,600 churches in some 40 nations. There are more than 1,700 congregations in the United States and Canada.

The denomination takes its name from John Wesley, the 18th century Anglican priest whose followers took the name their leader had been called by scoffers ? Methodists. In 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Baltimore.

The denomination split over slavery in 1842, and those supporting abolition formed their own denomination called the Wesleyan Methodist Connection. After the Civil War, some churches in the connection rejoined the larger Methodist body, now named the United Methodist Church.

Wesleyans in the United States changed their name three times between 1891 and 1968, when they settled on the Wesleyan Church of the United States. Building on its abolitionist heritage, the church takes strong social stands.

Sources: The Web site of the Wesleyan Church and How to Be a Perfect Stranger Vol. 2: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People’s Religious Ceremonies.