A 118-year-old area church now has a steeple after going without one for nearly six months.
The Westminster United Methodist Church had a brand new all-aluminum steeple installed Wednesday morning with the help of a large crane. The steeple is more than 28 feet tall and its base is 12 feet in diameter. The base where the steeple is set to be mounted stands about 50 feet high, making the finished product nearly 80 feet tall.
The original wooden steeple structure was struck by lightning and caught fire during a thunderstorm back in February. With the help of Westminster Rural, Harrod and Perry Township Fire Departments, the fire was put out quickly and the damage was confined to the steeple. Church officials are thrilled to see the steeple back to its old self.
"When the church steeple caught fire on February 24th, there was some people talking about eliminating the steeple because it is tall and it does draw lightning, and I'm certainly glad we did make a decision to return the steeple back to the church," Trustee Committee Chairman, Ken Webster.
The steeple took about 14 weeks to make and it weighs roughly 16-hundred pounds.
