Caring for the Local Church

Just as the church serves the needs of the community, the community must serve the needs of the church. This is important when it comes to maintaining the physical church building. While faith is the most important aspect a church provides for parishioners, it must have its physical needs attended to on a regular basis. For some older church buildings this may mean completely refurbishing them.

Older churches are often worn down over the years due to small maintenance budgets. A bad winter may cause the roof to leak and damage the interior of the church. Putting on a new roof is often expensive, and church members must bear the cost. Patching may last for a year or two, but eventually the building will suffer complete collapse if not fixed properly. Donations are important when a building must be completely refurbished because of a bad roof.

Stained glass windows have been an important part of churches for centuries. Many are becoming old and leaky as well. When a church needs massive repairs, the stained glass windows are often part of the repair efforts. Church members have several routes to choose for these repairs. They can have the window taken down and completely redone with modern methods. If this proves too expensive, the church may use plain glass and cover it with glass decals or glass transfers. The decals will provide the same picture as the original stained glass but at a fraction of the cost.

Even if a stained glass window will eventually be repaired, something must be put in its place until it is installed again. The temporary window does not need to be ugly or stick out like a sore thumb. Making a beautiful replacement with modern methods will help a centuries old church building retain its character until all the repairs are complete.