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Episcopal Church still open despite roof collapse

The Rev. Brian Prior points to water damage from melting ice and snow that caused a partial roof collaspe at The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Thursday. The leaking water saturated the roof and walls. “When we cut this out yesterday, buckets of water came out of the roof,” Prior said. (J. BART RAYNIAK / The Spokesman-Review)
Nina Culver
The Rev. Brian Prior points to water damage from melting ice and snow that caused a partial roof collaspe at The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Thursday. The leaking water saturated the roof and walls. “When we cut this out yesterday, buckets of water came out of the roof,” Prior said. (J. BART RAYNIAK / The Spokesman-Review)

Local churches did not escape unscathed from the extreme winter weather the past three weeks. While some had minor problems with falling gutters, others had more significant problems.

Part of the interior roof outside the sanctuary at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection at 15319 E. Eighth Ave. collapsed after becoming saturated with leaking water, but the building is still open for worship. “We went last week with a small hole and we’ll go this week with a big hole,” said the Rev. Brian Prior.

The trouble began on Dec. 28 during a wedding rehearsal when the father of the bride spotted water coming out of a light fixture. The man sent his two sons up on the roof to clear an ice dam. “I thought that would take care of it,” Prior said.

But snow and ice continued to build up in a roof valley between the old church and the addition built several years ago. “It just kept coming,” he said. “It all started coming down the walls. I started grabbing every garbage can I could find.”

The leak continued even through the roof was shoveled off and heat tape was applied. The Sheetrock ceiling eventually collapsed and this week’s warmer weather has allowed repairs to begin. The heat tape remains and is plugged into extension cords for now. “We’re trying to figure out how to wire it in permanently,” Prior said.

Waynco Construction employee Mike Schurra worked Thursday to assess the extent of the damage. “We’re just trying to dry it out,” he said as he looked up through the exposed rafters. Crews will have to figure out why the relatively new roof leaked and fix the problem. “There’s a lot of this going around,” he said.

Prior is hopeful that insurance will cover the damage, but the cost of repairs isn’t known yet. The Sheetrock on the walls still has to be removed to expose the extent of the problem.

Services will continue as scheduled and the church’s annual all-parish spaghetti dinner will continue as planned at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Bible study

A new weekly women’s Bible study is starting up at Millwood Presbyterian Church beginning Thursday. The study will be on “God Moments: Recognizing and Remembering God’s Presence in Your Life” by Alan D. Wright.

The gathering will be at 9:30 a.m. each Thursday at the church, 3223 N. Marguerite Road. The cost is $20, which includes the book and a workbook with daily lessons. Call 924-2350 to register.

Religion Notebook appears every Saturday in the Valley Voice. If you have news about activities or events at your church, please let us know so we can help spread the word. Write or send a bulletin to Religion Notebook, Valley Voice, 13208 E. Sprague, Spokane Valley, WA 99216. Call Nina Culver at 927-2158. Fax: 927-2175. E-mail: ninac@spokesman.com.