RAISE THE ROOF!

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This job was a long time in coming … by most estimates nearly 100 years!

The Church of Saint Peter in Saratoga Springs is currently replacing its slate and copper roof that was last done in the 1920s. The church, which was built in the 1850s, has had a leaky roof for years, said Father Thomas H. Chevalier, pastor. An original assessment was done in 2007 and when the Re-Igniting Our Faith campaign was launched in 2018, St. Peter’s used that as the time to make the roof a priority. The parish and architectural firm, Butler Rowland Mays — of which Steven Rowland is a parishioner at the parish — decided since the building proper fell into the Saratoga Springs Historic District, it would be easier to just replace the current slate and copper setup. Many of the rafters had rotted, adding to the task of reconstruction.

The work, contracted to Mid State Industries of Schenectady, began in August and it is expected to be done in October. “Everybody works together,” said Mark Phillips, parish trustee. Father Chevalier said without the generosity of the parishioners, as well as a $21,000 grant from the Sacred Sites program of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the project would have never gotten off the ground.

“They have been very generous in responding,” he said of the faithful in the parish.