Kennebunk Baptist Church has been busy making many needed restorations and improvements to a village landmark. In July, the church turned 182 years young. As one might guess, there are elements of the building and treasures inside that need maintenance and tender loving care.
It was discovered that the beautiful stained glass windows of the church needed to be restored. This was understandable, since they were installed in the very early 1900s, but this was cause for great concern, since they could never be replaced today. This project would be no easy task.
Our trustees researched to find a reputable company to handle the job, and the historical preservation committee took on the goal of raising funds to pay for the very expensive project. Thanks to fundraising and generous donations, the windows were completed and paid for earlier this year. The sun now shines through them, and they are once again a beautiful asset in the church, where they have been for over 100 years.
Our church has been blessed with two beautiful musical instruments that are enjoyed every week of the year. The Steinway grand piano is said to be “the gold standard of musical instruments.” Sadly, we found that ours was in need of serious repair. The work was done and paid for by a gracious anonymous donor.
The organ in the Kennebunk Baptist Church is one of a very few Allen pipe organs in the state of Maine. … After 64 years of faithful service, the organ has many issues, and in order to save it, it needs a complete custom-made console to bring it back to the original condition. Although the work will be completed in early 2017, the cost will take a number of years, many fundraisers and hopefully donations to complete the finances.
The front doors open to greet members and friends every service. It is unknown how many years they have served, but now it is time to replace them. Due to the church being a historical landmark in Kennebunk, it is no easy task to duplicate something that was made so many years ago and is certainly not an item mass produced today. To obtain a set of new identical doors, they must be custom-made and not in the least inexpensive. Just when it seemed that the budget was stretched to the limit, a member of our church graciously covered the cost and gave the gift of new doors.
The past several years have had “bumps in the road,” but God is faithful. We welcome you to visit and see all the improvements in the church that you pass by every time you travel Main Street in Kennebunk.
Sherryl Jones
Alfred
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
