Demolition of Zion Church to begin

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BY BOB REEVES / Lincoln Journal Star

A wrecking crew on Thursday removed a bell dated 1902 from a tower at the fire-destroyed Zion Church.

Stan Hamilton and Cory Lyons of Davis Erection Co., took about an hour with a crane to extract the bell from the southeast tower of the church, which was destroyed by fire last Saturday.

Dan LeGrande, a superintendent from LeGrande Excavating, was at the site overseeing demolition work. He said that on either Friday or Saturday, they would begin working with a wrecking ball to demolish the building at Ninth and D streets.  Structural engineers have determined that it can’t be saved.

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A firefighter hits hot spots at Zion Church PCA at 9th and D streets after an early morning fire on June 9. (William Lauer)

A firefighter hits hot spots at Zion Church PCA at 9th and D streets after an early morning fire on June 9. (William Lauer)

Services Sunday

Congregants of Zion Church will worship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Capitol City Christian Church, 7800 Holdrege St. The church services will be at other locations on future Sundays.

In addition to the bell, workers were able to save about a dozen stained glass windows, some pews, folding tables, a few bookcases, doors and miscellaneous furniture.  About five more stained glass windows were salvageable, but had not yet been removed by mid-afternoon Thursday.

Woodwork, pictures and other decorations from the church could not be salvaged, LeGrande said.

Pastor Stu Kerns said the congregation hopes to rebuild on the same site, and wants to incorporate the bell and other memorabilia from the old church into the new building.

The bell actually came from the predecessor to Zion Church, which was a few blocks to the west in Lincoln’s South Bottoms neighborhood. 

Ed Alles, 81, who has been a member of the church all his life, remembered helping carry lumber from the old church after it was torn down to the site of the current church, which was completed in 1928.

Alles also hoped that some of the stones from the top of the two towers at the entrance to the church could be saved and used in the new building.

Crews planned to save the cornerstone, with the inscription “German Evangelical Congregational Zion Church, 1900-1927.”

Kerns announced that the church will worship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Capitol City Christian Church, 7800 Holdrege St.

“Many churches across the city graciously offered their facilities and in order to not be a burden to any one congregation, many of them may still be needed for Zion’s transition,” he said.

Last Sunday the congregation worshiped at Saint Paul United Methodist Church, and will worship at other locations on future Sundays.

Zion Church also announced that it will continue its FoodNet distribution at 11:30 a.m. Saturdays at its education center at Eighth and D streets.  Zion members were able to distribute food last Saturday in Cooper Park, while their church was still on fire. About 50 people came for the food distribution.

The education center will continue to be used for classes, but has no meeting room large enough for worship, Kerns said.

Also Saturday, 20 adults from the church will leave on a 10-day mission trip to Peru, where they will work in an orphanage. 

Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com