300 Year Old Church Raises Symbol of Faith

by Julie Cordingley

It is calling your heart heavenward… reminding you to look up. 

The white fiberglass steeple had been down and lying sideways for close to two years. It became part of the landscape and blended into the drive home on Swamp Pike… so much so, that it was almost forgotten. That is until this past month, when there was something noticeably different. The white steeple was gone.

The fiberglass spire that went “missing” was an integral part of Faulkner Swamp United Church of Christ for close to 30 years. It was erected in 1999 as a replacement for the original wooden steeple that caught fire in 1925, after being struck by lightning. 

Turns out,  lightning strikes are not an uncommon occurrence for steeples, especially those that have a metal crosses attached to their apex. This particular strike quickly destroyed the wooden steeple and continued to burn into the sanctuary, causing extensive damage. The congregation took this unfortunate opportunity as a means to reconfigure their church. It was a monumental architectural project, requiring their church be divided horizontally into two parts; an upper level which currently houses the sanctuary (the church) and a lower section, which contains the fellowship hall.

Upon inspection, this newer, replacement steeple was made out of fiberglass, with no discernible damage. It probably would have remained upright for another 30+years had members of the congregation not made a serendipitous discovery in early 2022. 

While inspecting a non-working church bell, a small group, tasked with the constant upkeep of the very old church, climbed into the belfry. One handyman, Marcus Brandt, was leaning against the wooden frame, when his hand went through the wall. Someone muttered "Well, that’s not good.” It was discovered that the bell did not have a problem, but rather, it was its housing edifice that sustained significant rain water damage. Its rotting wood compromised the steeple’s support system.

Hurrying down from the tower, Brandt viewed the steeple from the ground and pointed out that the spire was slightly, but noticeably leaning inward toward the church itself. As lightning strikes can be a nemesis to topple steeples, so can strong winds. Not good indeed.

Once again, church members had to reconcile the fact they needed to address another monumental project of replacing the church tower, belfry, and spire. There was no choice. Their decision, however, was made easier by the fact that an anonymous donor came forward and kindly, generously, and unceremoniously asked permission to donate the needed money for the repair. 

So, in September 2023, a crane was dispatched and proceeded to pluck off the 800-pound spire and carefully set it on the macadam. Snow fencing was placed over the its opening to prevent animals from moving in, and there it lay for two years while work was being done on the steeple’s tower and belfry… where the whole mess began in the first place.

Faulkner Swamp is an extraordinarily old church with a rich history of the area and its founding. There was hope that the required work could be completed by the Fall of 2025, in time for the church to celebrate its 300th year, an incredible milestone. It is sadly ironic that the final phases of replacing their steeple happened around the time as the recent devasting fire at another old church in Pottstown, namely the English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Transfiguration, which dates back to 1790. Many onlookers of that fire agreed that the final sadness was seeing the cross on the top of the steeple engulfed in thick smoke and flames.

What is the purpose of a steeple? First, it is a notably a visual representation of a religious building. These inspiring structures were in introduced in 600 AD, mainly as a means to support church bells. They were more of the squat, square variety of a tower, but over time, more and more elaborate structures were created. Spires reached higher and higher and building materials such as wood, copper, and/or slate were incorporated to adorn the magnificent cone-shaped edifices. All was done in the hope to inspire church goers to remember their quest: to seek the divine by looking “forever upward and heavenward.” The fact that steeples oftentimes became focal points of local communities, and could be one of the first welcoming sights offered from a great distance, was a wonderful by-product.

In early November, the base tower and belfry, along with a new spire were delivered to the church. All were painstakingly built by the Marcus Brandt Reconstruction Company,  a group that specializes in historical restorations. In this case, the work was personal because it was Brandt (and those few church people) who recognized the initial problem when his hand went through the wall. It was obvious by looking at the pieces how incredibly sturdy they are due to the massive oak beams seen inside the structures.

Standing 20 yards away, on the church’s hill, was the new spire surrounded by scaffolding. Anyone driving by was not disappointed. There was no fiberglass to be found anywhere but rather an oak underbelly with steel reinforcement that was then covered by larch, a type of wood that contains more sap than cedar. The hardier larch shingles were being painted with a dark black paint infused with tar to ensure a rain resistant coating.

When asked, why not go with another smooth white steeple as before, Matthew Dicker, a Brandt laborer explained that "the dark, wooden clad spire is more in tune with the historical aesthetics of this wonderful 300-year-old church.” As he stepped back and glanced up he said, “It’s going to lighten up a bit over time, but either way, it’ll look great.”

It turns out that the week of Thanksgiving (how appropriate!) was the time to place the three pieces together: the tower, the belfry, and the spire. The week’s weather was not favorable with wind and rain in the forecast, which the crane from Lafayette Welding, Inc. had to take into consideration

Because the new structures were made of wood, they were far heavier than their fiberglass precursor, weighing over a combined total of 16,000 pounds. The base tower was hoisted first and placed on the reinforced church roof. Next came the belfry, whose octagonal bottom had to “puzzle piece” to exactly fit into the reinforced octagonal shape of the tower structure. So precise were the measurements, that there was with barely an inch leeway on each of the 8 octagonal sides. Finally, the hand-made spire with its cross was lifted and placed onto the belfry base.

The combination of meticulous craftsmanship along with metal reinforcements attached and bolted into the church itself, ensured the sturdiness of the new steeple for years to come. As Brandt quipped,” God would have to make a bit of an effort to blow this one over. Not a challenge to the Almighty, mind you, just an observation!”

Faulkner Swamp’s Pastor, Francis Chester asked to speak a few words before the delicate but mighty work began. The small group of dedicated workers nodded agreement as Chester remarked that the project "has not always been smooth, easy, or enjoyable,” but she praised them for their enduring love and immense skill in “building and raising a symbol that links our earthly lives to the divine.” She alluded to the well-wishers--  those drivers along Swamp Pike, who had been keeping vigil over the two-year project. “[This] work will be seen for a good mile as people approach from all directions” …a welcoming sight which is precisely, what church steeples are meant to be.   

[ Photos by Julie Cordingley.]

It has been over forty years since a chemist job in Malvern lured Julie Cordingley away from her up state, New York home. She is a proud resident of Gilbertsville! Besides working in industry, she has been a stay-at-home mom, and has just recently retired from Phoenixville Area School District as a (wait for it!) chemistry teacher. It has been a life-long dream to be a writer. She figures she can work at that craft while also traveling with her husband in their drivable RV…a retirement present to herself!

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