Last year, a local church suffered the loss of its landmark building, a building that had, for over 100 years, stood as a beacon of history and Christianity in the community — First Christian Church.

The April 28, 2014 fire that claimed what was one of the oldest churches in Washington devastated its congregation. But a year later, almost to the day, the church began construction of its new building, as it reflects on its heritage and looks to its future.

According to Kathy Simpson, a member of the church’s forward planning committee, the road to healing has been a long one, marked by the salvage of historical and priceless items from after the fire, as well as the realization of its new building. After the fire, members of the church were able to save its communion table and a wooden cross, the same cross that was carried out by a local firefighter at the time of the fire.

Since, the church’s forward planning committee, a seven-member team, has headed oversight of the new building’s construction, which has been commissioned to local contractor WIMCO Corporation. The congregation celebrated the groundbreaking of the site in May, something that added to the healing process where the words, “Out of the ashes, God raised a mighty temple,” took on a whole new meaning, according to F. Ray Moore, church moderator.

“Our church has gone through a lot,” Simpson said. “It was certainly devastating to the entire congregation, but once the beams started going up and cement was poured, people seemed to get really excited about it. Once they saw it being built, the healing process really started. We’ve been through some rough times.”

According to Bryan Ross, a member of the committee, the one-story building will be approximately 26,000 square feet and will house a sanctuary, family life center, Sunday school classrooms, administrative offices and facilities to house the kitchen, among other things.

And though the church’s congregation has not had a place of their own to worship, area churches and organizations have provided a means to host services and continue its ministries. Since the fire, the church has gathered at several places such as the Red Men’s Lodge and Temple of Jesus Christ Family Life Center, where it currently meets for services, Simpson said.

St. John’s Missionary Baptist in Washington held a musical program in January, donating the event’s proceeds to First Christian Church’s recovery efforts, and several other churches and organizations have worked to help support the church in its time of need, according to Simpson.

“We have been touched by so much generosity in the community,” Simpson said. “We hope we’ll be able to pay it forward one day.”

According to Simpson, the church will host a special event on Oct. 4, celebrating the arrival of its new minister, Dr. Jacob Kines, who comes from Georgia. Members of the congregation are also invited to visit the building site and write their names and Bible verses on the interior beams before the contractors continue construction. The church’s former minister left the church the day before the fire, and since, it’s been under the leadership of Dr. Lance Perry, interim minister.

“We’ve kind of coined it Sharpie Sunday,” Simpson said.

While construction continues, the church hopes to host the grand opening of the church on the second anniversary of the fire, Ross said. Next week, the roof will be added to the current frame of the building, a project that has been a labor of multiple denominations: the church pews are being built in Lancaster, Penn. by an Amish group; the building’s frame was done by Mennonites; the leader of the brick masons for the project is a minister of a Seventh Day Adventist church in Ayden; and other denominations have chipped in to help, according to Ross.

“It’s amazing how many different religions are involved in building this church,” Ross said. “You can see a hand in there that’s not ours. It’s definitely multicultural and multidenominational.”

“It’s amazing to see how many people are out there working on that project and seeing it actually materialize,” Simpson said. “And WIMCO has done an amazing job. They’ve been absolutely wonderful to work with. I think they have their heart in the project just as much as they have their heads and hands in it.”