September 24, 2024 4:11 pm
• Last Updated: September 24, 2024 8:14 pm
New London ― The former owners of the collapsed First Congregational Church announced in a recent social media post that their ministry has purchased another historic city church and will hold its inaugural service next month.
James Levesque, pastor and head of the Engaging Heaven Ministries, Inc., the former owners of the First Congregational Church at 66 Union St., announced in a Sept. 19 Facebook video the acquisition of the Second Congregational Church building at the corner of Broad and Hempstead streets for $1.
The church property consists of an 11,626-square-foot main worship building and an attached 3,485-square-foot day care building built in 1960, according to city records.
“In the midst of all the death threats, in the midst of the attacks and the in the midst of everything, we knew God was moving on our behalf,” Levesque said in the video.
The steeple of the 173-year-old First Congregational Church collapsed onto the main church building on Jan. 25, prompting the emergency demolition of the damaged structure.
Levesque, who could not be reached to comment on Tuesday, said he was contacted about six months after the collapse by a caller who put him in touch with an unidentified bank vice-president. Levesque said he was asked whether he’d be interested in purchasing the Second Congregational Church for $1.
“And here we are, announcing the acquisition of the Second Congregational Church,” Levesque said in the video. He indicated the purchase would be finalized before Oct. 13, when the first service is scheduled to be held in the building.
City property records on Tuesday showed the church at 171 Hempstead St. is still owned by the Miracle Temple Church of New London, which bought the 156-year-old building from the Second Congregational Church in 2013 for $1.
Miracle Temple held its last service at the church on Sunday ahead of the retirement of its longtime pastor, Larry DeLong.
On Tuesday, DeLong said he began searching several months ago for a group to take over the church building and was eventually put in contact with Levesque, who toured the church in July.
DeLong, who will soon move to Georgia, said he expects the church sale to be finalized by the end of the month. He said his former congregation will continue to “worship elsewhere within the community.”
Engaging Heaven’s New London congregation ― the group operates other churches in Florida, Montana and West Haven ― has held worship services for the past several weeks at the downtown Crocker House apartment building.
The collapsed church property was purchased in July for $125,000 by The Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities (ECHO) group, which plans to build housing on the site.
Questions arose in the days after the steeple collapse about whether the church was properly insured. Levesque previously said the property “for sure” was insured but has not offered details on the type of policy or the payout amount.
In February the city became impatient with Engaging Heaven’s failure to pay its share of the emergency demolition costs and placed a $245,000 lien on the property. As part of the purchase agreement, ECHO now has to pay off the lien.
Soon after the church collapse, Engaging Heaven launched a gofundme page to raise $65,0000 to cover the ministry’s share of clean-up costs.
“…and of course, we need the finances to construct another Church building,” Levesque wrote on the fundraising page.
Church showing its age
The cause of the church collapse has not been formally established, though experts and city officials have said weather, eroding mortar and age were the likely culprits.
The Second Congregational Church is also showing signs of its age. Sections of mortar are missing from between blocks that make up the granite structure and large tree branches could be seen Monday growing from the towering spire above a gabled roof.
Soon after the First Congregational Church collapse, Miracle Temple representatives said they had conducted a comprehensive analysis of the building in 2023 that included the steeple.
The inspectors found the building to be structurally sound but in need of repairs and updates. Miracle Temple Chief Operating Officer Constance Taylor said in February that the steeple is not in danger of collapse but does need about $100,000 worth of work that would include patching some leaks.
In total, the church estimated it would need more than $1 million for all of the suggested repairs.
j.penney@theday.com