Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC) will celebrate its planned new church structure this morning (Sunday) with a groundbreaking ceremony at the building site.
Plymouth’s building was destroyed in September, 2016 by a fire caused by a lightning strike. Today’s short service, on the site of the former church building at 2010 Moholt Dr., is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. It will include a blessing on the property as well as the ceremonial groundbreaking.
That will be followed by a celebration gathering and lunch in the chapel at Grace Lutheran Church, 202 W. Grand Ave., where the congregation has been meeting since the fire. Rev. David Huber, Plymouth’s pastor, said the public is welcome to attend both events.
The church has been working with Lien & Peterson Architects since the fire to design a new building for the site. It will house the church’s worship, fellowship and community activities, and will include space that will be available for community groups to use. Marawood Construction Services, Inc. will be the contractor.
Work will get underway this fall, according to Huber, although no firm date has been set.
“The architects think that the contractors will start bringing down trees and preparing the land sometime next week, or the week after at the latest,” he said in an email.
Huber noted, for anyone planning to attend the groundbreaking, that the Moholt Drive property has neither electricity or bathrooms.
Plymouth Congregational UCC was founded in 1885 as Second Congregational Church. In 1957, it joined the United Church of Christ and changed its name to Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, highlighting the historical ties to the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock.
In 1992, the church sold its building on Bellinger Street, built the new one on Moholt Drive and moved into it on Easter Day, 1994.