The members of Centre Congregational Church thought that things couldn’t get any worse when the pandemic forced their programs online.
Then, on May 30, a sprinkler burst in the sanctuary ceiling, causing more than $600,000 worth of damage.
“The hard thing has been when some churches were starting to gather and following the guidelines … we have not been able to do that,” said Pastor Nancy Rottman.
Despite the setbacks, the congregation has been able to hold its Sunday services online, and Rottman says she has become adept at producing videos, which she later uploads to YouTube. She said that, while the flooding was, of course, devastating, the timing worked out in their favor.
“If it had been normal times — if we had been here — that tragedy would have been felt in such a different way,” Rottman said. “It’s just looking for the bright side.”
Over the past year, the church has been able to hold plenty of programs, especially charitable events.
They partnered with the Tower Day School, which is owned by the church, to run a personal item drive for Citizens Inn in Peabody, and collected donations for their mission partners, including the Bread and Roses soup kitchen in Lawrence, Haven from Hunger in Peabody, and Heifer International. They were even able to take advantage of the increased online connection during the pandemic to host the country director of Heifer International Tanzania for a Zoom meeting.
Most recently, they held a Community Shred Day on April 3 in the church parking lot to raise money for environmental education.
“That’s the thing that we’re most proud of. We had to get creative, so we did,” Rottman said.
When the church renovations are complete, Rottman said they plan to hold a rededication of the building in place of the 300th anniversary gala that they had to cancel last fall.
In addition to fixing the flood damage, she said that the new sanctuary will be equipped with audiovisual equipment to live stream services for members who found the church online during the pandemic.
“We’re looking at those successes for the future whenever we reach what our new normal will be,” Rottman said. “We’re really looking to leverage those experiences toward more helping of our neighbors.”
