Gilbertsville Baptist Church damaged by storm

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·2 min read

Jul. 4—The Gilbertsville Baptist Church was damaged during a thunderstorm Friday when part of a tree slammed into the roof.

"I loved that tree," Larry Smith, chair of the pastoral relations committee at the church, said.

He said the 200-year-old pine tree struck the roof about 9 p.m. Friday night. The force of the impact from the huge tree put an eight by ten foot hole in the roof and damaged part of the steeple and knocked off some of the slate roofing tiles on the steeple. Part of the tree also went through the church's ceiling and scattered lath and plaster and insulation to the opposite side of the sanctuary.

Smith said an eight-foot long part of the tree was stuck in the ceiling and roof and was removed by Tom Pasternak — Tree Pro Services on Saturday. "He had to cut it into three pieces in order to remove it," Smith said.

Once the tree was removed, Pasternak placed a tarp on the roof, he said. The tree also damaged some of the roof rafters, he said.

"We were lucky it didn't hit right on the tower or damage the stained glass windows," Smith said.

Smith said he has attended the church since he was a boy, and pointed to the back of the sanctuary.

"That was a balcony and I had Sunday school classes there," he said. The balcony was closed off to help defray the costs of keeping the church heated in the winter, he said.

The building was built in 1875, after the original church building, which was built in 1832 burned down in 1874, he said. The church currently has 45 members, he said. "Like most churches, it's an older population," he said.

Both the Baptist and Presbyterian churches, which are located diagonally across the street from each other, do not have a full-time pastor, so the congregations have joined together to hold church services at alternating churches. He said church services were already scheduled to be held at the Presbyterian church on Sunday, so the damage didn't affect worship. Church will be held there until the Baptist church is repaired, he said.

Smith said the insurance adjuster would be at the church later in the week to do an assessment on the extent of the damage. He said he was hopeful that the repairs wouldn't take a long time, so the congregation could return to the church on schedule.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.