'We lost everything': Taftville church will take over a year to repair after Saturday fire

For the growing congregation St. Mary and St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church, buying and moving to the former Taftville Congregational Church on 16 North B. St. six months ago was a step forward. However, they’ll have to find another place to worship again.

“We are in God’s hands, so we’ll try to move as soon as possible,” said Father Tomas Kalta of St. Mary and St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church.

At 10:08 p.m. Saturday, a fire was spotted at the church, affectionately called the green church. After 90 minutes, the fire has put out, but 35% of the building was damaged by the fire. Other parts have smoke and water damage, according to a Facebook post from the Taftville Volunteer Fire Department.

Cause and repair costs not known

A cause isn’t yet known and the investigation is still ongoing. It won’t be finished for two or three weeks, Norwich Deputy Fire Marshall William Wrobel said.

The cost of repairs isn’t yet known, but it will take over a year to get the repair work done. In the meantime, other nearby churches have offered their space to St. Mary and St. Moses,  Kalta said.

“We lost everything, basically,” he said.

Before buying their church the St. Mary and St. Moses congregation met in a small chapel in Waterford, which lacked space for church functions. The congregation has 75 to 100 people at services regularly, and often has people from out of state worshiping there, Kalta said.

Taftville Congregational Church dissolved in 2022

Rev. Jack Shackles was the pastor of Taftville Congregational Church for 15 years before retiring last year. After his retirement, the congregational church sold the building to St. Mary and St. Moses, donated the money to other churches, and dissolved, he said.

“The congregation was unable to sustain the building; the membership had dwindled down, and they went to other churches,” he said.

The St. Mary and St. Moses congregation is also saddened by the fire, Kalta said.

“They are devastated and they are shocked,” he said. “They don’t know how to react.”

The Taftville community showed support for the green church, offering to help clean up when the investigation is done, and shared stories about weddings, baptisms and more, Kalta said.

Baltic resident Carol Glaude, who grew up in Taftville, wanted to stop by the church on the way to lunch with her friends in Norwich. Though she went to church at the nearby Sacred Heart Church on 156 Providence St., the Green Church was a popular sledding spot when she was a kid, she said.

“It’s kind of sad,” she said. “A lot of good memories here.”

'A lot of history here'

The Taftville Congregational Church had met for decades before their building was finished in 1906. The land was given to the church by Ponemah Mills, which owned much of Taftville then. The green paint given by the mill is also why the church is called Green Church, Shackles said.

“It has a lot of history,” he said.

Most residents of Taftville worked for the mill, and windows in the church were given in memory of mill workers. It was a close community in those days, and it’s a close community today, Shackles said.

On Wednesday or Thursday, weather permitting, there will be evening prayers outside of the church, to ask God for mercy and to take care of the church, Kalta said.

Shackles is confident the community will continue to support the church, and wants the building to continue being home to a church that’s growing.

“It was exciting to know the building was going to be used for community worship,” he said.

Glaude also hopes the Green Church becomes “a thriving, functioning church again,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Fire-damaged St. Mary and St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church