New Jersey congregation rises from ashes

Ground broken for sanctuary to replace one that burned in 2002

by Evan Silverstein

      In addition to rebuilding the congregation’s 82-year-old stone sanctuary,the project includes construction of an auditorium, meeting rooms, choir-rehearsal rooms, and a full-service kitchen and dining room.

      Construction is expected to begin in earnest later this spring; the target date for completion is November 2005. The cost, which will run into the millions, depends in part on a pending final insurance settlement.

      “I’m convinced that when West Side is rebuilt, it will be a welcoming, beautiful, awe-inspiring, holy place,” said the Rev. Mike Pulsifer, West Side’s pastor.

      Plans call for the new sanctuary to seat 688 worshippers and have 40 percent more floor space than the previous building. It also will be fully accessible to the handicapped and will have better acoustics and lighting.

      The groundbreaking came after two years of study and planning involving more than 100 church members.

      West Side, organized in 1912, is in Bergen County, about 15 miles from New York City. It’s the largest congregation in Palisades Presbytery, with 1,500 members. Last July the congregation hired the architectural firm Herbert S. Newman & Partners, of New Haven, CT, to design and rebuild the sanctuary.

     “West Side should be proud of its legacy and proud that we have carried on the tradition of our forefathers by rising to the challenge and accepting the responsibility of creating a place of worship for future generations,” Hanft said. “We are continuing the mission begun by that handful of believers over 90 years ago.”

       The fire, caused by an electrical malfunction, gutted the sanctuary and adjacent auditorium and a brand-new chapel on the third floor of the Christian education building.

     The 45-year-old education building sustained heavy smoke and water damage. It was refurbished and reopened last year. The new sanctuary complex will include a chapel.

  At the time of the fire, which caused damage estimated at well over $10 million and drew firefighters from 11 departments, West Side had just finished a $3 million renovation.

      The congregation last month launched a campaign to raise $4 million to help with rebuilding expenses. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) sent $10,000 from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering to West Side just after the fire. Since then, unsolicited contributions have totaled $260,000.

      West Side parishioners have maintained the church’s programs, using more than a dozen separate spaces volunteered by neighboring churches and synagogues.

      Morning worship services and Christian education are held at Immaculate Heart Academy, a Catholic girls’ school nearby.

      “I’m convinced that when we look back on this time in our history we will say, ‘This was one of our finest hours, because we trusted God and one another,’” Pulsifer said. “We moved ahead together with faith, courage and generosity in spite of the giant uncertainties and problems facing us.”