EASTHAMPTON — The Easthampton Congregational Church has been temporarily closed for worship after the ceiling of a gathering hall was discovered collapsed earlier this week.
A church employee discovered that the ceiling of Fellowship Hall had collapsed Sunday night. Inside the function hall were knee-high piles of plaster ceiling and insulation.
No one was injured.
“It was very dusty,” the Rev. Sherry Tucker said Thursday. “You look at it and you sort of can’t believe it. It’s really just an amazing sight with all that insulation — it’s very high.”
The rafters remain intact, though Tucker said the church is not taking any gambles with safety. The church will be temporarily closed until the insurance assessment is conducted and an engineer can confirm that the building is structurally sound.
“We’re being extra cautious by not having church there this week,” Tucker said. “The building will be safe — I don’t want anybody worried about coming to the Easthampton Congregational Church.”
Joint services will be held with the First Congregational Church of Southampton at 10 a.m. Sunday in the church at 210 College Highway in Southampton.
The collapse comes as the Easthampton church had planned to host gospel singer Evelyn Harris of the Grammy Award-winning Sweet Honey in the Rock ensemble.
Instead, Harris will come to Southampton for what has become an even bigger celebration and be joined in song by choirs of both churches.
The Easthampton and Southampton congregations typically worship together during the summer. Tucker said the Rev. Jennifer Valentine, pastor of the Southampton church, invited the Easthampton group to Southampton after hearing the news.
“It’s nice to have our sister church be there for us at this time,” Tucker said.
There’s also been a large outpouring of support from other community groups, Tucker said.
The Easthampton Community Center has offered Tucker meeting space until the church is reopened. And Tucker said she has gotten calls from other area churches offering their support.
Tucker said she is still not sure how significant the damage is, nor does she know the cause of the collapse. She said she is hopeful that the church’s insurance policy will cover the repairs.
“I think one thing our church is very good at is pulling together after this type of thing and working together and not being discouraged,” she said.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.