Renovations make a Florida church viable now and for generations to come

*Inside Trinity Lutheran Church, the glorious mural of the Ascension fortunately escaped water damage. The faceted windows were restored with care.*

When afternoon storms roll in, the Rev. Robert Kinley, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, Florida, no longer breaks out the buckets.

He doesn’t miss it.

Trinity Lutheran is located in a residential neighborhood of quiet streets with a mixture of two-story and ranch homes. Pink crepe myrtle punctuates green lawns. Gray Spanish moss drapes itself over tree branches, and palms of various sizes dot the landscape.

Jacksonville itself is located in the upper eastern corner of Florida. Facing the Atlantic, the city has a humid subtropical climate with an average of more than 100 rainy days a year. Such conditions don’t play well with roofs.

“We knew we had several places in the roof that needed repairing,” recalls Pastor Kinley, who has been at Trinity more than 20 years. “We had been repairing leaks for 10 years. It was an ongoing, constant issue. Added to roof leaks was concern about water intrusion throughout the church facility, especially the sanctuary and education areas.” Keeping the building in good condition, he notes, was vital to the congregation’s ongoing ministry to the community.

Repairs were obviously necessary, but what was the best way to proceed? Simply patch the roof—again? The congregation was in a bit of a quandary. A consultant noticed the wooden decking for the whole roof system was starting to rot.

“We learned that the existing life span of the roof was limited,” says Pastor Kinley, “and we looked at replacing all of it.” More debate followed. The consultant had raised issues of water intrusion. Congregants noticed interior areas, especially the nave and sanctuary, required repainting because of peeling, flaking plaster. Masonry experts pointed out other areas of concern.

How much of a project would this become?

The people of Trinity decided to step out in faith. At the time we were experiencing an uncertain but good economy—this was pre-COVID,” shares Pastor Kinley, “and instead of doing the repairs piecemeal, we decided to go ahead and do everything at once.”

The congregation—established in 1926, with the building dating from 1928—looked at having the church declared an historical site with the idea that funds might be available with a protected status. The process, however, proved cumbersome, a multiyear endeavor with no assurance that authorities would grant the desired historical status or, if given, that this would even provide needed funds. With leaks increasing and water damage becoming more evident, time was of the essence.

Trinity launched a three-year capital campaign, several bequests helped, and the congregation reached out to MIF for a loan to begin work. “Many of our members have investments with MIF, and we were comfortable choosing MIF because we knew of its work with other congregations and how it supports the larger church,” says Pastor Kinley. “MIF walked with us through everything we needed to do to get the loan and continued to be available throughout the project. They are an excellent partner.”

Before actual roof repairs took place, the congregation heeded their roofing consultant’s advice. Because of additions to the structure over the years, the church had nine different types of roofs. Given such complexity, the consultant wrote the project specifications and oversaw the inspections. At his suggestion, new flashing and a new system of gutters became part of the project. Also, the new roofing system incorporates a slight slope to allow for better drainage.

In the sanctuary, when workers took off the old roof, they found boards showing significant rot. Workers replaced interior boards, while also scraping, re-plastering and repainting areas of water-damaged walls and laying new carpet in some areas of the building. Updated electrical work throughout includes LED lighting, which increases interior visibility and lowers maintenance and operational costs.

A mural of the Ascension gracing the wall behind the altar was fortunately untouched by water damage and didn’t require any repairs. The same, however, was not true for Trinity’s many beautiful, faceted glass windows, including the large rose window over the main entrance that serves as a recognizable symbol of the congregation in the community.

Unlike stained glass windows held together by lead, older faceted glass windows, like those at Trinity, use mortar to hold the pieces of glass in place. This mortar was deteriorating, endangering the integrity of the windows that were also showing the effect of years of accumulated grime. All of the church’s faceted glass windows were recaulked, regrouted, and cleaned in order to stabilize and protect them while preventing future water damage. Now, they gleam.

The finishing touch to the project is upgrading the technology in the sanctuary. New recording, sound, lighting and other equipment will enable the congregation to stream church services live. “We hadn’t been able to livestream during the pandemic,” explains Pastor Kinley, “but we did post services online after they were recorded. We reached people in different parts of the country and overseas. I’m not sure we’ll ever know how much of a reach online services have.

“Looking back, we were surprised at how much damage had occurred. We’re glad we did the whole project, and glad the extent of the work took things down to the bare bones,” reflects Pastor Kinley. “Repairing a roof is not the most glamorous or exciting project, but it was definitely needed. The restoration of an older structure keeps it viable and able to do ministry—now and for generations to come.”