Calvary Church to rise from the ashes in Hyannis

The dedication of a small church congregation and the generosity of Yarmouth Port architectural firm and many others have made it possible to start rebuilding the Calvary Baptist Church in Hyannis that was destroyed by fire in March.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held noon on Monday, Oct. 15, with many of the community leaders, organizations and churches who have helped keep the church going through the past seven months. A three-alarm late night fire left four people who were living in the church without shelter and more than 200 residents without a free meal that the church provided three days a week. An overloaded electrical wire was determined to be the cause.

Were going forward, Rev. Bruce Smith said Tuesday. We have the insurance money and donations of money, time and labor. The church is waiting for approval of the building permits in order to start construction as soon as possible before winter weather sets in, he said.

The church has gone through the design review process of the new building designed pro bono by Kurt Raber and Richard Fenuccio of Brown, Lindquist, Fenuccio and Raber Architects of Yarmouth Port. Raber, company vice president, and Fenuccio, president, offered their professional services immediately after the fire, which turned into a pretty significant donation, Raber said Tuesday, including all their time and effort.

The architects decided to get involved because they not only felt it was the right thing to do, but were impressed that the small congregation was feeding so many people each week. It was a big deal, Raber said.

He noted how most of the congregation started out as recipients of the food pantry and became involved as volunteers and members. Its more than a church. Its an inspiring story, he said.

After examining the church, the engineers and architects realized the structural damage was so great that it was not feasible to save anything but the foundation and floor, Raber said. The building would have needed drastic modifications to meet the building codes and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements, he said. The previous building was on two levels and the food pantry and bathrooms in the basement were not easily accessible.

It was not practical or advisable to rebuild, Raber said.

The result was that the church was demolished on Oct. 1. The new church will have the same exterior look with cedar shingles and white corner trim. It will have the same 6,940 square feet as the old church and will be built on the same site, but turned to face and be closer to West Main Street. The old church faced Lincoln Road.

Instead of a single rectangle there will be two, with a new kitchen and dining room at the rear of the sanctuary for the meals program, Raber said. The new church will be all on one floor with no steps so as to be totally handicapped accessible.

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Calvary Church to rise from the ashes in Hyannis