The Presbyterian churches in Warren County will hold a Chicken Barbecue on Saturday, July 28, from 5 to 7 p.m. at North Warren Presbyterian Church Community Park, located at the intersection of Church and State Streets in North Warren. They are asking for a donation of $8 for adults, and $4 for children 10 and younger with the proceeds going to benefit the Irvine Presbyterian Church Restoration Project. The public is invited.
Rev. Burfoot Ward, pastor of the North Warren Presbyterian Church, said "We are excited to join forces with our fellow Presbyterians to hold this chicken barbecue for our community and help support the Irvine Church as they make these much needed repairs to their church building."
The group of churches, which calls itself "TWINGS," (the first letter of each of the communities they are located in within Warren County: Tidioute, Warren, Irvine, North Warren, Garland, and Sugar Grove) has been meeting together over the past year to promote fellowship and ministry; this is their first attempt at raising funds to assist a fellow church community in need. They hope that the people of Warren County will turn out to enjoy a delightful meal and help raise funds to bring the restoration of the Irvine Presbyterian Church to completion.
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In late 2011, the church began to display structural cracks in the corners that began to creep out onto the walls. With the help of Fiske Construction and a structural engineer, it was determined that the roof was sagging and pushing the exterior walls outward. There were, in fact, two walls with the outside being of sandstone most of which were found to be 21 inches thick with an inside wall built using a variety of field sandstones of various shapes. In early spring, construction began which entailed taking down the walls to an established height and rebuilding the outside and inside wall and reattaching them. The vaulted ceiling, which is a keystone to the building's beauty, was replaced and a new roof and rafters along with insulation, now supports and secures the old stone church for future generations.
While the project is not totally complete, the congregation is once again worshiping in their restored building.
Dennis Ledebur, pastor of the Irvine and Tidioute churches, says, "We have been very blessed by the faithful giving of our congregation and the outpouring of prayer and financial support of others. We continue to be in prayer for support of the financial needs acknowledging that with Christ all things are possible. On behalf of the Irvine Presbyterian Church and its members, I would like to extend an invitation to visit our Old Stone church for worship and to thank our friends in the community as well as the TWINGS churches for their gracious support, their many prayers, and encouraging conversations."
For more information about the barbecue, call North Warren Presbyterian Church at 723-5060.