First Baptist Church

 It’s Been A While

By Jack Coll

On Sunday November 24, it was a crystal clear morning, the sun was shining bright, the air was cold and church bells could be heard ringing in the distance.  A very special occasion was taking place at the First Baptist Church located at Fourth Avenue and Harry Street.  A 10:00 A. M. mass was being celebrated, and Pastor Bradley Lacey, with a smile on his face stood tall to welcome all, back home.

Eight and a half years earlier on May 10, 2005, a small fire was started in the eve of the church roof from a workers torch.  Fire Companies were summoned to the scene of the fire, only the fire had spread throughout the eves of the structure, the smoke was black and very thick, the flames reached high towards the heavens, and within hours it was clear, it would be a while before Pastor Lacey and his congregants would be meeting at the Fourth Avenue facility.

The First Baptist Church of Conshohocken has been a borough institution since 1868.  Just after the Civil War ended in 1866, members of the Balligomingo Baptist Church from West Conshohocken started meeting at the home of Michael Mills and formed a Sunday school along with a Missionary Association which became the nucleus for the church.  Nearly two years later in 1868 the First Baptist Church of Conshohocken was chartered.

When the flames were doused, and the smoke cleared, Pastor Lacey’s mission was to find a place to worship, raise the money needed beyond the insurance payment to totally rebuild the structure, and manage to keep his congregation together throughout the process.  Pastor Lacey’s first decision was to bring in the best demolition contractors in the business, Ratoskey & Trainor to eliminate the safety hazards of the falling debris.  His second challenge was to secure a home for the members of the church to continue Sunday worship.  The Fellowship House Board of Directors and Darlene Hildebrand made the church members feel at home for the next eight and a half years.  Pastor Bradley has continued to oversee the construction and despite rising cost of steel and other building materials, the church finally opened its doors for Sunday services.

And so it was, on this crystal clear, cold Sunday morning, members of the First Baptist Church filed into the rebuilt facility one by one.  As they unwrapped their scarfs and gloves, and removed their hats, they looked around and nodded in approval, their eyes told them they were home, their hearts told them there was still a lot of work to do.  The congregants knew they weren’t in the main service area of the church, but they were happy to be home.

Pastor Lacey worked the room like a well groomed politician hugging and kissing everyone who came thru the front door.  Speaking of Politicians Conshohocken Mayor Robert Frost stopped in for the service to wish the congregants goodluck with the future of the church.

The room was bright and warm, the church nursery was full of young parents and their children, members of the church who had worshipped at the Fellowship House for more than eight years looked around knowing that this was once again their Sunday home, and then the music started.   Pastor Lacey walked to the pulpit, looked out at the full house with a smile, and said, “Welcome Home.”