“The renovation process is underway,” said associate pastor Scott Wise about the structure on the corner of Church and Temple streets, built in the early 1850s for a Baptist congregation. “Things are moving along really well. It took a little while to get the roof on due to some paperwork things. Once we did that, things moved along quickly.”

The church’s iconic steeple and clock tower, a symbol of Fredonia to many residents, was destroyed in the blaze. Wise said it is getting replaced — but will not look exactly like the one that burned.

“We placed the order for the new steeple a couple weeks ago. It should be here sometime in early June,” he said. “It’s 44 feet tall and weighs just under 2,000 pounds. They have to bring it in from North Carolina, and once they bring it here, they will install it with a crane.”

Wise noted the steeple that was destroyed wasn’t originally there when the church was built.

This is an architect's drawings of the new steeple and clock tower that will be installed at Family Church Fredonia.

“There have actually been three or four steeple designs since it was built,” he said. “We took this opportunity to pay homage to the history of the structure but also freshen up the image, rather than simply put it up the way it was before.

“This is quite a bit better for the building itself,” he added.

“The clock tower that was on there before was added after the building was built, but there had to be lot of rigging to fit it in the structure. The building wasn’t designed to support that weight. This new structure will weigh significantly less and help with the longevity of the building.”

There will be another clock installed — but this one will be owned by Family Church Fredonia and not the village, according to Fredonia Mayor Athanasia Landis. The old clock was intended for Village Hall many decades ago but didn’t fit the space built for it, so the Baptists agreed with Fredonia’s government to put the clock in their tower.

Wise said the sanctuary’s new ceiling was set to be finished during the week, with scaffolding scheduled to come down Thursday. He noted that the church’s early 20th century chandeliers were saved from the fire and will be reinstalled, instead of the modern lighting fixtures that appear in architects’ drawings of the completed worship space.

“They’re starting flooring; the office section should be done sometime in June,” Wise added. “The sanctuary should be done sometime in July. But we’re just saying ‘summer’ because you never know,” he laughed.

For now, Family Church Fredonia still worships at its Lakeview Avenue building, but Wise thinks that will last only a few more weeks. “Our hope is to have a few services in the (renovated Church Street) building, just to get reacquainted with it, learn all the new technology that’s in there for sound equipment.”

The church is launching a fundraising campaign to help with extra expenses incurred because of the fire. Wise said that will include a video detailing the renovation work done so far. He encouraged people to look at Family Church Fredonia’s social media accounts, such as its Facebook page, for more information on the campaign, as well as updates on the work that continues.