One quirky feature that will remain is that the church, as Pastor Stephen Philbrick describes it, was built backwards.
Cummington Fire Chief Bernie Forgea and Pastor Stephen Philbrick talk about the fire last year that destroyed the West Cummington Congregational Church.CUMMINGTON – A new West Cummington Congregational Church is about to rise from the ashes of the old one, and if the two look similar no one is about to complain.
Church members, many of whom are self-styled “eccentrics,” will celebrate the groundbreaking on Saturday the way they worship— with “spirited words” and song. The start of the rebuilding comes 18 months after the 1839 church that had been the congregation’s home burned to the ground in January of 2010.
The West Cummington Congregational Church is known for drawing non-conformists to it like moths to a candle. Sunday readings are as likely to come from the “Tao Te Ching” as from the Bible and traditional hymns are eschewed for hipper fare such as church member and renowned musician Marissa Nield singing one of her own songs.
The flock, which gathers from as far away as Hinsdale and Northampton, has been using the parish house as a meeting place since the fire, but hopes to move into its new digs soon. Deborah Balmuth, a church deacon, said the congregation has already raised $720,000 towards its $800,000 goal, thanks in part to efforts by far-flung sympathizers such as a church in Buckland and a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Dalton.
“There’s been an amazing outpouring from the community,” she said.
The congregation loved almost everything about the little church that burned down, from its white clapboard to the big clear windows that filled the place with light. Church members filled out a questionnaire asking what they would like to see in the new building.
“We got everybody to write and write and write about the church, said Pastor Stephen Philbrick. “What they liked and what they didn’t like.”
Not surprisingly, they wanted many of the details that made the old church special.
“It helped us come up with a guiding blueprint for the design,” said Balmuth. “People really wanted the building to reflect the look and feel of the old building.”
One quirky feature that will remain is that the church, as Philbrick describes it, was built backwards.
“You’re looking at the faces of the congregation when you walk in the front door, instead of at the backs of their heads,” he said.
While this made it impossible for late-comers to sneak in, Philbrick said, their arrival was met with chuckles, not scorn. Bruce Woods, an architect who lives in West Cummington but works mainly in Boston, offered his services for free. He was careful to keep the big, clear windows that filled the old church with light.
“People said it made the colors warm, although the church was unadorned,” said Philbrick.
Other features that will remain are the while clapboards and the bell tower. The new church will even be oriented the same as the old one. There will be no icons inside, a nod to the atmosphere that welcomed a wide range of philosophical, theological and artistic expression. Although the fire destroyed almost all of the old building, Philbrick said parishioners worked to scrape the charred wood off the large church beams. The usable wood was then milled and will be used to make doors in the new building.
There will be one new and much welcome detail in the new building, however. Unlike the old church, it will have bathrooms.
“It will be a welcome touch of modernity,” said Balmuth.
Philbrick and the congregation have their sights set on Easter 2012, for the church’s grand reopening.