It’s Time to “Raise the Steeple!”
By Nancy Wood,
January 26, 2012, page 9.....

It's Time to "Raise the Steeple"
by Nancy Wood

The Charlotte Congregational Church has announced the start of “Raise the Steeple,” a fundraising campaign to construct an historically accurate replica of the original 1849 steeple, which had to be removed from the church building because of extensive deterioration At a meeting on Sunday, January 16, the congregation approved a fundraising goal of $250,000.
The deterioration was discovered in 2009 during restoration of the roof and steeple superstructure and the replacement of the slate roof. At that time, the congregation raised $435,000 to fund the roof restoration work, protect the stained glass windows, paint the exterior of the church and other structural repairs.
A substantial portion of the $250,000 goal has already been raised through a $20,000 Vermont historic preservation grant and generous contributions from community members approached by the Steeple Committee over the last two months. Committee members Frances Foster and Lane Morrison said, “We found out about the grant on Christmas Eve! The state told us ours was one of the best applications they had seen.” Other members of the Steeple Committee are Birgit Deeds, Rick Kerschner and Virginia Rowland.
The contractors who will “raise the steeple” have been chosen, including Jay Southgate and Southgate Steeplejacks, who have rebuilt steeples throughout Vermont. The new steeple for the Charlotte church will be built indoors at their site in Barre. The moldings from the original steeple were saved so they can be copied exactly. Construction is expected to begin this spring, and the steeple, including a new cap, delivered and raised by the end of the summer.
It has taken two years of planning and preparation to advance to the construction stage that will complete the church restoration, including the new steeple. Because the church is one of the most distinctive and important historic structures in Charlotte, the congregation is extending the opportunity to participate in the project to the greater Charlotte community. Many community members showed their support last fall during the apple pie sale, identifying themselves as “steeple people!” A portion of the proceeds were for the steeple fund.
If the fundraising goal is exceeded, the church plans to establish a Church Capital Maintenance Fund.
For more information on the “Raise the Steeple” project, please contact: Rick Kerschner (236-5564 or rskersch@comcast.net), or Lane Morrison (425-2495 or lmorrison@gmavt.net). Donations for the “Raise the Steeple” effort may be sent to:

Charlotte Congregational Church
Steeple Fund
P.O. Box 12
Charlotte, VT 05445