New churches to rise from ashes in Morrow County

More Religion stories More Religion Stories By JoAnne Viviano The Columbus Dispatch Thursday July 3, 2014 2:05 PM

While two church communities in Morrow County continue to recover from the sting of losing their buildings to fire last fall, both are looking forward with hope as they forge ahead with rebuilding efforts.

Gethsemane Baptist Church in Marengo is preparing to raze whats left of the burned-out structure and begin rebuilding in August, with the hope that a new church will be ready by the new year.

Meanwhile, Sacred Hearts Parish, a Catholic church about 10 miles away, is almost halfway to a $1 million fundraising goal about a month after kicking off a capital campaign.

Sacred Hearts member Andy Ware said people are still suffering from the Thanksgiving Day destruction of a building that held memories and many irreplaceable items, including a wood altar crafted by the father of a parishioner.

Thankfully, folks are channeling that into praying hard, he said. That we were able to raise the amount we have so far is remarkable for our small country church. Were confident we can keep moving forward.

Since the June 8 campaign kickoff, $427,000 has been raised for a building that will look more like a traditional Catholic church than the previous structure dating to 1973, Ware said.

The new 242-seat church and attached parish hall is expected to cost about $2.3 million, to be funded by the donations along with about $1.2 million from insurance money and $100,000 in parish reserves.

We want to put together a facility and a church that glorifies God but will last for the parish for generations, Ware said. We think building a proper church reflecting modest but traditional values would certainly be a boost to the parish and give us the ability to engage more with the community.

Sacred Hearts, with about 200 members, is the only Catholic church in the county. It continues to hold weekend services at the closed Cardington Lincoln Intermediate School.

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New churches to rise from ashes in Morrow County