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Photos by Hallie D. Martin
Almost every morning, Pastor Jack King finds black shingles from the roofs of the Beach United Methodist Church in Westhampton Beach and its accompanying parsonage, torn loose and strewn around his backyard.
The problem is that the roofs on the 117-year-old church on Mill Road and the parsonage next door, which serves as Pastor King’s residence, are in serious disrepair. In fact, thick insulation wedged between the ceiling and roof is the only thing preventing rainwater from dripping onto the pews inside the church, Pastor King said.
“The back of the parsonage looks like Swiss cheese,” said Pastor King, who lives in the two-story house with his wife, Joyce, and son, Christopher, 27. “The neighbors complain about the shingles flying into their yard.”
Church trustees have been asking for donations from the community to replace the roofs. So far, they’ve raised about $9,000 toward that goal, but that’s only a fraction of the estimated $100,000 needed to replace both roofs and to complete other updates to the buildings.
“Now, it’s getting really bad,” said Bob Knotoff, the chairman of the Beach United Methodist Church’s trustees.
The congregation donated enough money to finance a minor repair to the church roof two or three years ago, Mr. Knotoff said, but that work is not holding up and trustees are now seeking donations to replace both roofs by next spring, if possible. “We need a big donor,” he added.
The problem has been spreading in recent months and water can now be spotted leaking from several locations inside the church and parsonage.
The trustees need to replace the roofs before the buildings become unusable, said Janet Barr, a member of Beach United Methodist Church.
“It’s very important we get this done now,” she said.
The parsonage building was built in 1898, six years after the church was constructed. It has housed the pastors of the church since then.
Pastor King said the church trustees first turned to the congregation for donations in the spring. The trustees then appealed to the wider community by holding a fund-raiser in the fall.
They are also holding a tag sale of collectible and antique Christmas items on Saturday, November 28, and Sunday, November 29, and again on Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. each day, at the church. The proceeds from the tag sale will go to funding the repairs, Mr. Knotoff said.
Built in 1892 by E. Raynor and Sons Builders for $5,000, the Beach United Methodist Church is one of the oldest churches in Westhampton Beach. The building survived the 1938 Hurricane, though it did sustain flooding damage, Mr. Knotoff said.
The church was also used as a shelter immediately after the 1938 Hurricane made landfall, Pastor King said. Cots were set up in the parsonage for people who lost their homes, according to a history of the church written by Phebe Tuttle of Westhampton Beach. Ms. Tuttle was a longtime member of the Beach United Methodist Church who passed away in 2005.
The church was renovated in 1922 at a cost of $4,700. The stained glass windows were installed for $790 and the pews were installed for $890, Pastor King said, chuckling at the low prices. That is when the church earned its nickname, “The church beautiful,” according to Ms. Tuttle’s history book.
It is not clear if or when any other major renovations were completed at the church since that time. About 10 years ago, the trustees paid for the building’s foundation to be reenforced, Mr. Knotoff noted.
Pastor King said the support from the community during the last fund-raiser makes him optimistic that the church will raise the needed money for repairs prior to the deadline imposed by the trustees.
“We’re very encouraged by the response from the community,” he said.
Monetary donations can be mailed to Beach United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 1746, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.
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