Church hall rubble filled with memories
A Levin church group is mourning the site of decades of memories, as the remains of the beloved hall are cleared away.
Demolition is under way on Levin Life Church’s children’s hall, in Bledisloe St, which was left a gutted shell after a suspicious fire on December 29 last year.
Church member Sandra Chandler said it was terrible to see the home of so many happy memories, from children’s games to baptisms and marriages, destroyed.
‘‘People’s lives changed there, my own family – all our lives changed there.’’
Since the 1960s, the hall has been a centre of church life – hosting events, youth gatherings, a children’s ministry and a variety of play groups and community organisations.
Chandler started Sunday school there when she was 8, and over the next two years the whole family converted.
‘‘Me, my sister, my mum and dad – we became Christians there.
‘‘I was baptised in the concrete pool at the front of the hall – that’s still buried under [the debris], the workers haven’t found it yet,’’ Chandler said.
Four generations of Chandler’s family have contributed to the hall’s history.
Chandler’s father helped renovate it in the 1980s, as well as build the current main church.
Her 5-year-old granddaughter, Cassia, stood outside the church the day after the fire – just staring at the blackened ruin, Chandler said. ‘‘All she said was: It’s so sad. ‘‘It was my favourite playgroup, and my favourite dress-up clothes were in there,’’ Chandler said.
Pastor Paul White said the congregation hoped for something better to arise from the ashes, once the wreckage was cleared.
Contractors started the hall’s demolition on Thursday with the removal of larger bits of loose debris and corrugated iron from the roof.
White said workers already knew there was some asbestos in the building, and precautions were taken but after work began they found another section of the hall was potentially contaminated.
‘‘It’s a minimal amount of asbestos but you have to be careful.
‘‘So work’s stopped until they can confirm it is asbestos.’’
The demolition is expected to resume next week, and White understood it would take only a day or two from that point.
The church hall was the fourth in a string of potential arsons around Levin over the past three months – which started with minor rubbish bin fires.
Police have found nothing to suggest the fires were linked, or the work of a single arsonist, Manawatu¯ Senior Sergeant Phil Ward said.
No arrests have been made in connection to the church fire.