Calais church gets second chance after fire

CALAIS – They will tell you it was their faith that helped them rebuild their church.

Out of that faith grew the $1.2 million Second Baptist Church.

It has been a long 21/2 years as the congregation has struggled to recover from a September 2001 fire that snaked through the 119-year-old building.

The structure was insured, but the congregation decided to spend time raising more money and donating some sweat equity to make a new building a thing of beauty.

The new church was built on the site of the old one, next to the City Building on Church Street.

“It definitely feels good to be home,” said Tammy Ginn, church treasurer, as she and Stacy Doten, a member of the dedication committee, walked around the building recently.

Ginn’s son, Tommy, 13, worked hours alongside adults to put the finishing touches on the Sunday school classrooms.

Although the structure is spanking new, the parishioners incorporated as much of the old church as they could.

On the night of the fire, members of the congregation and Calais firefighters made several trips inside the burning building. They were able to save the pulpit, the Communion table, the church clock, flags and several pictures.

The stained glass windows, also 119 years old, escaped damage and have been installed in the new building, along with the original ceiling lights from the burned church.

After the fire, the congregation held Sunday services at the Calais Elementary School. The church averages about 100 parishioners each Sunday.

Ginn said she was happy to be back in the church. “You don’t have to pick up chairs, set up chairs or anything, just come and sit. And those [new padded pews] are very comfortable,” she said with a laugh.

Although the building was still a work in progress, the first service was held there in April.

Pastor William Lee, who has been on board since November, said he was impressed with the building. “The sound is excellent, the lighting is great, the people are great. These people have gone through a lot in the last 21/2 years, and they’ve kept united and wanted to see this happen and it happened,” he said. “God has totally blessed us.”

The sanctuary holds up to 200 people. And the building contains various Sunday school classrooms, a nursery-toddler room, a large kitchen, a library and offices for staff. “We have people who are bringing books in,” Ginn said.

Doten said the renewal was truly a group effort.

“There were a lot of dedicated people in our church that kept moving forward and had an ultimate goal in mind where we wanted to be, and we relied on God’s help to get there,” Doten said.