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Over the past few months, locals have seen the East Quogue United Methodist Church on Montauk Highway, which many consider a focal point in the community, undergo a metamorphosis, as the exterior of the building has undergone a massive restoration.
The major stages of an estimated $100,000 renovation project to the 128-year-old church were recently completed, including repairing cracks to its roof and restoring its towering steeple to its original state.
According to church trustee Ken Carter, who has chaired a refurbishment committee for the church, the renovations are mostly complete, with some minor work to be completed in the spring. The “finishing touches” will include new trim around the church’s entryway, as well as replacing steel railings that lead into the church with new wooden railings.
Members of the church’s Board of Trustees decided to renovate the church in order to maintain the historical building, but also with the hope of attracting new members to the church, which has seen a decrease in its congregation over the past few years. The church holds weekly services at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday. “We were hoping with a fresh look to try and entice people,” Mr. Carter said.
The church board contracted with Sean Spicer Construction of Eastport to perform the renovations, which began this fall. He said that a crew of about eight men worked on renovating the church each day, adding that one worker—whose name escaped him—made it his personal challenge to replace the shingles on the church’s steeple.
“He took a lot of pride in that challenge,” said Mr. Carter, noting that each individual shingle was carved by the contractors to mimic the original exterior.
In addition to carving out the approximately 1,000 shingles to replace the originals from the church’s construction in 1882, the renovations included installing a cross at the top of the steeple and putting new siding on the building, according to Tom Mendenhall, another church trustee.
The church’s nine trustees were able to finance the project through contributions from congregants and community members, as well as proceeds from property that was bequeathed to the church.
Mr. Carter said that the church raised a total of $8,000 in donations from members of the community after sending out letters detailing the significance of the structure around the hamlet. The majority of the funding came from a bond that was purchased by the church after it sold properties on Squires and Vail avenues that were left to the church in the estate of Fred Squires and his sister—whose first name Mr. Mendenhall believes, but wasn’t certain, was Minerva.
Mr. Carter wasn’t sure exactly when the Squireses left the properties to the church, but said they were sold and the proceeds were put into a bond. “It gained a small amount of interest,” he said.
For Mr. Mendenhall, the renovation is important for the 35 or so parishioners who attend church each Sunday, as well as the community as a whole.
“It’s the only year-round church in East Quogue, and it has a lot of history,” said Mr. Mendenhall. “A lot of people, ‘hatched, matched and dispatched’ from that church.”
The historical place of worship is also a meeting place for many community groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the Cub Scouts, the Compassionate Friends bereavement group, and a Spanish-language congregation from the Jesus El Camino Church of the Nazarene. In the past, the church has also been used by Maureen’s Haven, a group that provides shelter to homeless people at area churches in the winter.
Mr. Carter said the board was very pleased with the work done by the contractors.
“We’ve had positive feedback,” he said. “We got feedback from people passing by, seeing the crew work here.”
“Before, it was looking kind of shabby,” Mr. Mendenhall said, adding that he estimated the last time the church was painted was about 25 years ago. “We’re hoping now that it’ll be looking better that people will stop by on Sunday morning.”
