HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH
RESTORATION PROJECT
Dedication of Historic Christ Church, May
6, 2007
The Right Reverend George E.
Councell, XI Bishop of New Jersey, dedicated the newly renovated and preserved
Historic Christ Church on May 6, 2007 at the 10:00 a.m. Service of Holy
Eucharist. Special thanks to all benefactors and workers who contributed to the
preservation of Historic Christ Church to the glory of God!
Scroll down to read about the
restoration from the beginning of the project. more
pictures
March 2007
Join the Old Church paint
party--finish the restoration!
You can be a part of making
history by lending a hand to prepare and paint the Old Church after its eight
month restoration. Sign up for a slot on a Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon or 12
to 4 p.m., and join with our brothers and sisters to put our finishing touches
on the restoration. We will be under the supervision of Victor Sisolak,
professional painter, who has planned the project. We will finish as soon
as enough of us join and and do it the old fashioned way: you and me lending
a hand! Christ Church was built and maintained by God's grace and our
faithfulness and labor--we are blessed to continue the tradition.
Questions? Call the church office!
February 2007
Search is underway for a painting
contractor to complete the project (not included in contract). Electrical,
heating & ventilation, and flooring installation, and clean-up are underway.
A meeting of the prime contractor, architect, and Christ Church team was held
Jan. 25th and a list of discrepancies and close-out work was generated. Thank
you to all who have helped with our cash-flow needs. If it be God’s will, we
will be back in the Old Church soon. We thank God for the good work that has
been done by our contractor, architect, project manager Dick Maybach, project
treasurer Lou Friedersdorff, and Warden Fred Hartswell.
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January 2007
RENOVATION WORK NEARS COMPLETION
Final hook-up of the heating system vents and the laying of the new floor remain
on our contract tasks. We are responsible for having the interior of the church
cleaned, prepared, and painted before the pews and furniture are returned and we
return to worship God in his “renovated” house. A check for $114,000 was
received in payment from the New Jersey Historic Trust and a $150,000
non-interest bearing loan was received from the Diocese of New Jersey to help
pay our final bills for the project. Thank you to all who have helped with our
cash-flow needs. If it be God’s will, we will be back in the Old Church by the
calendar new year. We thank God for the good work that has been done by our
contractor, architect, project manager Dick Maybach, project treasurer Lou
Friedersdorff, and Warden Fred Hartswell.
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December 2006
OLD CHURCH RESTORATION NEARS
CONCLUSION
New wood beams are replacing
damaged floor beams. Shifting the building weight from the current
foundation to the new is underway. Our Diocesan Council approved an
interest-free $150,000 one year loan to help us through our cash-flow
gaps. Thank you to all who have helped with our cash-flow needs. If
it be God's will, we will be back in the Old Church by the calendar new year.
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November 2006
RENOVATION WORK MOVES ALONG ON
SCHEDULE
The last of the basement concrete
work was completed in the beginning of November. The south, north, and west
sides of the building are finished. The Loan & Grant Committee of the
Diocese of New Jersey visited Christ Church, discussed our loan application and
gave its recommendation for approval to the Diocesan Council. We are recommended
for a “no-interest, one year loan to assist with our cash flow needs. Thank
you to all who have helped with our cash-flow needs by accelerating your pledge
payments. If it be God’s will, we will be back in the Old Church by the
calendar new year.
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September 14, 2006
HUMAN REMAINS UNEARTHED IN OLD
CHURCH EXCAVATIONS
During excavations to enlarge
the basement under the old church, the burial remains of a human were
discovered by restoration project workers. A brief delay in work was
experienced to allow our archeologist to determine the nature of the remains.
Evidence suggests that the burial was not of a Native American. (Such evidence
as teeth shape, body positioning at burial, and the presence of a wood coffin
point with high probability to such a conclusion.) Most likely, due to the
depth of the burial, the placement of the body facing East, and its place
under the present church building, the burial took place alongside the church
before the current structure was built in the 1830's, or possibly earlier
before the structure became Christ Church. The remains were carefully
excavated and reburied on All Saints Sunday 2006.
September 2006 Update
FIRST TOWNSHIP BUILDING
INSPECTIONS PASSED ! Pre-masonry and tower structural repair inspections were
conducted by the Middletown Township Building Dept. Inspector on Thurs., Aug.
17th. All inspections were “passed.” The inspector commented on the quality
of the work to date. We are now ready to pour concrete around the helical
pilings and close to finishing the forms for the basement slab. Various columns
and sills that have deteriorated are being replaced as the work to stabilize the
building continues. We are still hoping to return to worship in the old church
in December.
The Vestry adopted a budget of
$600,051 to accomplish the work and includes: prime contractor’s bid
($487,959), non-construction costs ($87,694), and a contingency fund ($24,398).
The budget is funded as follows: Christ Church reserve funds ($65,000), Old
Church Foundation Funds ($115,000), New Jersey Historic Trust Grant ($200,000),
and Firm Foundation Fund Pledges & Contributions ($221,153). Any excess
contingency funds and future donations to the Firm Foundation Fund will be
reallocated by the Vestry at the end of the project to much needed New Church
improvements previously identified, Christ Church reserve funds, or the Old
Church Foundation reserves.
Cash Flow: You can help. Managing
cash flow is a major challenge of the project. There is some lag-time built into
the application process to obtain payment from the NJ Historic Trust. You can
greatly assist us in cash flow management by paying your Firm Foundation Fund
Pledge as soon as you are able, and early if possible.
The Vestry, Wardens, and Rector
continue to beg your prayers for this project and ask you to continue your
support of the Firm Foundation Fund in any and every way possible. With God’s
blessing and your support we will ensure that God is worshipped in Old Christ
Church for generations to come! Questions may be addressed to the Rector,
Wardens, and Vestry members on the details of this action.
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Update: July 23, 2006
Good progress this week!
Approximately two-thirds of the helical pilings upon which the new foundation
will rest were installed this week--a major step forward in the Old Church
Restoration Project. The remaining pilings will be installed Monday, and
work is anticipated to proceed at a steady pace through the summer and
fall.
Cash flow is critical now.
You can help out by honoring your pledge to the project and do so early, if
possible, so that we may be able to avoid taking a construction loan and its
associated costs.
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July Update
Photo by Dick Maybach
ARCHEOLOGICAL “FIND” UNDER OLD
CHURCH
During the routine archeological
excavation associated with the Old Church Renovation a “find” was made.
Running perpendicular and under the current rubble foundation another and
similar foundation was discovered—the extent of which is unknown until further
excavation is accomplished. Because the discovered foundation was under the
current one it is assumed to pre-date the existing foundation. A local historian
and archeologist believes it could be the foundation, or a remnant of the
Middletown Village fort or block-house foundation which also served as the
Monmouth County jail. Below is an excerpt from History of Monmouth County, New
Jersey, by Franklin Ellis, published in 1885. Jane Headley, our parish
librarian, brought this article to my attention.
“There was no court-house
at Middletown or Shrewsbury. At those places the courts were held, according
to the requirements of the law, in the ‘public meeting house’ in each
town. There was a jail at Middletown, but none at Shrewsbury. In Middletown
the jail stood at the intersection of the road from Swimming River with the
King’s highway, now the Main Street of the town, on the west side of the
Swimming River road, where the Episcopal Church now stands. On this spot a
block-house was built around 1670 to protect the inhabitants from Indians.
Subsequently it was for a short time used as a jail. The first jail of the
county was built there in 1684, in accordance with the requirements of the act
of the previous year. In the Middletown street, in front of the jail, stood
the stocks. Several murderers were executed there.” (pg. 399).
As a historic site, we must do
everything reasonable to preserve such finds. Hunter Research, the archeologist
under contract to Christ Church will do further, but unplanned “shovel
excavations” at the twenty-four locations of the foundation pilings specified
for this project on Friday, June 30. If further finds are made, our structural
engineers will need to make adjustments to the design of the new foundation as
required. This will no doubt increase the cost of the project to preserve the
archeological find or finds. Our hope is that we may only need to make minimal
adjustments to the structural design and plans. Regardless of any further
findings, all adjustments or re-designs must be approved by the State
Preservation Officer.
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photo by Virginia Lamarche
NEW JERSEY HISTORIC TRUST 2004
GRANTEES RECOGNIZED IN STATE CAPITOL: CHRIST CHURCH AMONG THEM
Pictured below
from left: Susan Bass Levin (Commissioner of the Department of Community
Affairs), Jack Babeuf (Chairman, Foundation for Historic Christ Church), Jack
Zerrer (Treasurer, Foundation for Historic Christ Church), The Reverend Dean
Henry (Pastor and Rector of Christ Church), Dr. Thomas Brown (Chair of the NJ
Historic Trust). Photograph by Hal Brown.
The Rector, and Officers of the
Foundation for Historic Christ Church, Jack Babeuf, Chairman, and Jack Zerrer,
Treasurer traveled to Trenton on Monday, December 13th to receive a
presentation check for $200,000. This check represents the amount of our grant
to be matched by an additional some $140,000 in funds to be raised by Christ
Church and the Old Church Foundation to refurbish and stabilize the church’s
foundation in 2005. The Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Susan
Bass Levin and Historic Trust Chairman, Dr. Thomas Brown presented the check
to Christ Church with checks for some forty other grants awarded in 2004.
Various members of the State Legislature congratulated the grantees and spoke
to the important work of preserving the State of New Jersey’s significant
historical buildings and sites. Christ Church is one of those buildings which
the State values and where God is worshipped and served now as in the days
past. May God be praised!
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Welcome to Christ Church, Middletown