In a little more than a year, St. Elmo United Methodist Church leaders hope to return to their longtime location after a two-year absence.
In August 2009, an electrical fire ripped through the 88-year-old church building at St. Elmo Avenue and 47th Street. Since then, church leaders have been planning to rebuild.
Last week, St. Elmo UMC’s renovation plans got final approval from the city of Chattanooga and the area’s Historic Zoning Commission.
“We hope to finish demolition before August and then be in the building by next October,” said the Rev. Mark Dowell, the church’s pastor.
The church’s insurance policy paid about $3.6 million after the fire, he said, and the renovation plans fall within that budget.
Though the fire destroyed historic pews, intricate woodwork and a large pipe organ, Mr. Dowell said the building was weighing down church finances.
“We were struggling financially because of the upkeep of the old building,” Mr. Dowell said.
Now, church members think their finances will improve, and the church will grow in membership.
“We were in a maintenance mode before,” said church trustee Barry Condra. “This is really a win-win. We think we’ll grow tremendously. Any time you have a new building, you have interest.”
Long-term members say they, too, are pleased about an updated building and the chance to attract new members.
“We’re so excited about what’s happening,” said Betty Case. “I think our ministry is going to grow out of the ceiling when it’s all done.”
Construction will begin before summer’s end, Mr. Dowell said. Though most of church was lost during the fire, plans call for most of the church’s exterior walls and stained-glass windows to be saved. But that salvation comes at a hefty price tag, with the church allocating about $250,000 toward the stained-glass windows, he said.
The church will demolish a 1950s-era back portion and add new classrooms and a multipurpose gymnasium that doubles as a fellowship hall. The new sanctuary will house a digital organ and a baby grand piano and many of the “traditional” elements longtime members really wanted to hang onto, Mr. Dowell said.
“It’s all come together really nicely,” he said. “Things could have really fallen apart.”
Instead, the church has continued to attract new members despite changing buildings on several occasions since the fire. The congregation now meets at Lookout Mountain United Methodist Church. When that small church lost its pastor earlier in the year, the two congregations merged, Mr. Dowell said.
If the St. Elmo church’s membership grows after reopening, Mr. Dowell said, they may embark on two expansion phases and raise funds to return a full pipe organ to the sanctuary.
“We think this building will allow us to reach out into the community even more,” Mr. Dowell said. “Our congregation has really pulled together and grown stronger through all this.”
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