By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A Princeton church is grateful that no one was hurt in a partial ceiling collapse in its sanctuary over the summer, but now the congregation is looking for financial help to pay for expensive repairs.
The collapse occurred July 21, involving a section of the ceiling, toward the back of the Mt. Pisgah AME Church on Witherspoon Street, in the middle of the night.
“Thank God, no one was hurt,” said the Rev. Deborah L. Brooks in an interview Thursday in a church that traces its history to the 19th century.
She said if it had happened during a Sunday service or a funeral, “I can’t even imagine people trying to get out.”
On a tour of the building, she showed where the debris still lay all these months later. An investigation by a structural engineer hired by the church’s insurance company found that the failure of the ceiling “was the result of historical construction practices, specifically the ceiling rafters were undersized and poorly connected to the supporting structure,” according to an August letter from the carrier to the Rev. Brooks.
“Long-term deflection of the undersized ceiling rafters under the self-weight of the ceiling resulted in the failure of the rafter connections that allowed the ceiling to fall under its own weight,” the letter continued.
The Rev. Brooks said the church’s insurance claim was denied and then denied on appeal, leaving the congregation to have to find the money to make the projected $260,000 in repairs. She said the church was able to raise $50,000, or enough to make some stop gap improvements, but will need to raise the rest by taking out a mortgage.
In the meantime, the congregation is meeting at nearby Witherspoon Presbyterian Church on Sundays at noon, instead of its usual time at 10 a.m. The change has hurt service attendance, the Rev. Brooks said.
The church is looking for the public to help in anyway it can. Donors can call the church directly at 609-924-9017 or log onto www.mtpisgahprinceton.com for information.
“Whatever anybody could do,” the Rev. Brooks said, “would be a blessing.”
