In the small town of Syracuse, a vacant, dirt lot is all that remains years after one of its oldest buildings caught fire.Â
The century-old Syracuse United Methodist Church, which had stood at Sixth and Chestnut, burned on a sub-zero night in January 2014.Â
The blaze could be seen for miles.
The next morning, only the church's ice-covered brick shell remained, a stunning sight in the town of around 1,900 people.
Investigators later blamed the fire on faulty wiring.
But nearly three years after the blaze, the church will begin the transformation of that dirt lot. The groundbreaking ceremony for a new church set for Sunday will signal the beginning of construction on a nearly $1 million project.Â
Rev. Gary Ganger, the church's pastor for four years, said the ceremony is a culmination of a trying three years in which he not only helped raise funds for a new building but also worked to keep his congregation of around 200 people from dispersing.Â
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"The challenge uniting people seemed insurmountable," Ganger said. The fact that the church is going ahead with the project is a rite of passage for a congregation that initially disagreed on its future.
Initially, some members were content with holding services in a makeshift sanctuary at the Fifth Street Centre in downtown Syracuse, where the church still meets on Sundays.
But a September 2014 vote affirmed the congregation's desire for a new church home.
Choosing a design was the next challenge.
Some on the building committee disagreed about the general direction the church would take, Ganger said.
Others sweated the small stuff.
A design was eventually reached. The new church was to be more modest in size, at nearly 6,000 square feet; roughly half the size of the old church.
Church member Carolyn Gigstad, who also serves on the building and fundraising committees, said raising the money was the final step.
Insurance covered nearly $600,000 of the roughly $1 million cost. The rest would have to come from the community.
That meant a multitude of banquets and chicken dinners to raise funds, said Gigstad, a church member for over 40 years.
The money was hard to come by, according to Gigstad, with many of the church's members on fixed incomes.
Yet after three years, Syracuse United Methodist Church has nearly reached its goal, with only $130,000 left to raise. Ganger expects to reach the goal by the end of the year.
Ganger said the groundbreaking ceremony will be simple, with the congregation and contractors gathering at the lot after services Sunday.Â
A Bible passage about King Solomon committing to build a temple in Jerusalem will be read and verses sung.
"These last few years have been very high stress," Ganger said. "But I feel like I can finally sit back, relax and slow down a bit."
The new church, scheduled to be completed in 180 to 210 days, will feature a stucco facade with a stone and brick entrance.
It will include a multi-purpose sanctuary with chairs instead of pews and a high-vaulted ceiling.
The sanctuary will not only be used for worship services but also for dinners and other activities.
A donated altar will command the front of the room, along with a new baptismal font.Â
Ganger said the design is meant to reflect a shift in how his church worships, from a traditional service to a more laid-back, modern worship style facilitated by the congregation's temporary home in downtown Syracuse.
"This change was a very healthy thing," Ganger said. "I think we realized what makes up the church is the people, not the building."
Stained glass that survived the 2014 fire will be displayed in the new church's lobby.
Gigstad said the design will allow for add-ons to the sanctuary, if necessary.
She also hopes the church will be able to run a childcare center in the future to meet the demands of the community.
But first, fundraisers need to turn the digging over to contractors before any of these plans reach fruition.Â
"The best part is we're going to have a home again," Gigstad said.