NEW LONDON, Conn. — Construction crews worked throughout the day Saturday taking down the two remaining steeples of the historic First Congregational Church in New London.
After Thursday’s collapse, the entire structure was deemed a total loss and had to be torn down for safety precautions. The demolition began as the congregation of Engaging Heaven Church, which used the Union and State Street building as its New London campus, prepared to hold Sunday services.
The community rallied together to make those services possible. Sunday service was held at 10 a.m., located at the Garde Arts Center, just a block away from the site of the collapse.
Bob and Sara Nicolls are the pastors of the New London campus. In a post on the church Facebook page, the Nicolls wrote, “Our skyline may never be the same, but the strength of our churches and the strength of our city has only increased.”
The couple reacting to all the community support following Thursday’s collapse wrote, “Everyone is this city has brought me to tears on many occasions the last two days. They are not tears of pain, but tears of indescribable hope and joy for the days ahead!”
Crews now face the delicate task of balancing finding out the cause of the collapse while making sure the building comes down safely. “We're preserving as much evidence as we can in the hopes of being able to determine that but as the fire marshal said, We may never know the answer,” said Mayor Michael Passero.
The church has started a GoFundMe in order to rebuild which has already raised over $50,000.
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