FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Central United Methodist Church in Downtown Florence is taking its services on the road for a couple months while crew restore the sanctuary to preserve the building.
“Well this is the biggest undertaking we’ve had in a space like this,” said facility manager Dan Rogers.
The church was founded in 1870 and since then has been rebuilt three times.
“After some number of years that building was destroyed by fire, they moved a little bit and built another building and after several years that building was destroyed by a tornado,” said Rogers.
Over 100 years later and the building still stands, but church officials tell News13 the sanctuary suffered minor damages from previous hurricanes and they decided it was time to remodel and repair.
“We want to maintain the historical integrity of what we got here. The last time we had anything big done in here was 30 years ago, so if we can go once every 30 years that will be fine. It’s good,” said Pastor Thomas Smith.
Once the work is completed the church will hold nearly 600 people, but in the meantime services have been placed on hold at this location.
“Our casual service is still here on campus but our traditional services is off campus,” said Pastor Smith.
The project is expected to be completed by mid-September.
