Divine Transformation
Once a dilapidated ‘disaster,’ Grace Christian Fellowship’s new church is awe-inspiring
WOONSOCKET — Purchased as a dilapidated, mold-infested structure by a Christian group from North Providence last year, the historic house of worship on Blackstone Street is a church transformed.
After investing tens of thousands in cash and congregation-powered sweat equity in the makeover of the 127-yearold First Baptist Church, the site is now the home of Grace Christian Fellowship.
With the renovations substantially complete, the congregation will celebrate its third Sunday service in the red-brick landmark this weekend, said Pastor John A. Ricci.
“It’s been a transformation, that’s for sure,” said Ricci. “This place was a disaster.”
The former First Baptist Church had been vacant for at least four years before Grace Christian Fellowship bought it August 2016 from a former church group led by the Rev. Dorian Parker. The fellowship paid $280,000 for the building.
Ricci said the congregation, with about
130 regular members, scraped together about $120,000 to overhaul and replace major utility systems, including electrical, plumbing and heating. Church members, including a few trained tradesmen, did most of the work, which also included repairs to the exterior masonry and interior woodwork.
Since so much of the labor was donated, Ricci said he has no idea what the makeover would cost if the church had to pay for it all. But he said the insurance company pegs the replacement value of the church at $2.5 million and if he had to take a stab at the market value of the building in its present condition, it might be $700,000.
“We have no intentions of selling it,” added Ricci. “We love it here and we plan on staying here for a long time.”
The investment shows. The central worship area practically glows with refurbished hardwoods, including the floors, the muscular oak pews and the altar. The walls of the worship area, also known as the nave, feature beefy woodbeam accents which have also been refinished.
Restoration crews achieved similar results in the fellowship hall, a large open area adjacent to the nave where Grace Christian Fellowship intends to hold wedding receptions, banquets and other special events.
Workers also framed off new areas for churchgoers, including a nursery where worshippers can watch a livefeed of services on a high definition TV while caring for small children, and a “media room” where visitors can pick up literature about religious topics, video recordings of past services and – a tradition for Grace Christian Fellowship – Bibles. There is no charge for any materials that leave the room, says Ricci.
One of the most vexing problems the congregation encountered en route to restoring the church was rampant mold. All of the utilities in the church had been turned off for some time before the congregation arrived and the water pipes froze, including the main service line leading into the basement.
“There was two feet of water in the basement,” said Vic Simonin, a church deacon.
Until a few weeks ago, Grace Christian Fellowship was holding services in what used to be an Italian restaurant on Woonasquatucket Avenue in North Providence, according to Ricci. The restaurant belonged to his father who tried to sell it as a restaurant at a time when Ricci was still holding services for the fledgling congregation in his house – a couple of miles away.
When the sale fell through, Ricci said, his father, also a very Christian man, saw it as something of a sign from God. His father invited him to convert the restaurant into a church, so he did.
That was around January 2000, said Ricci. The arrangement worked for a while but the congregation realized it was outgrowing the site several years ago and began looking for a new home.
Amember of the congregation who is active in real estate saw the church advertised for sale and urged him to come and take a look at it.
Of course, Ricci says, he found the building in deplorable condition, but he was able to see beyond that. He was particularly impressed by the attention the original builders paid to the altar, which features hand carved accents and other ornamental details.
“It was a disaster,’ said Ricci. “Even though it was dilapidated – there was mold everywhere, it was dingy – when I saw that, I said there’s so much potential here.”
The church is also a major repository for stained glass windows. They are original to the church and in surprisingly good condition for their age. A few are bowed and could be straightened out, but it’s not in the budget right now.
“It’s quite fantastic what’s been done here,” says church elder Michael Izzi. “There’s been a lot of hard work that’s been done here in the last 10 months.”
Built in 1890, the First Baptist Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which records the designer as “an architect named Butterfield” who came from Manchester, N.H. The register says a company known as the Darling Brothers of Worcester built the church, which is dominated by a tall bell tower – a feature that helps make the church a local landmark.
The tower also holds a large electric clock which hasn’t worked for some time.
“We’re hoping to get that working again, too,” says Izzi.
Until the church was shuttered, around 2012, it had operated continuously as a Baptist house of worship since it was erected.
For many years, Because He Lives Ministries, a mission founded in the 1980s by Paul and Patricia Dempster to feed the homeless, operated out of the basement of the church. After the death of her husband, Patricia Dempster carried on the work at the church for some time, but she was forced to relocate to All Saints Church several years ago due to the deteriorating condition of the building.
Ricci said neighbors and city officials have reacted favorably to the restoration of the church and they’re happy it’s in use again. Among those who stopped in recently were Councilman Christopher Beauchamp and Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt.
“She seemed really pleased,” said the pastor.