BETHLEHEM, Pa. – It’s been a long road to recovery for a historic church in Bethlehem that was damaged by a water main break more than two years ago.
69 News Reporter Sydney Kay has the story on its restoration efforts and what it means to the community.
Ken Grieshaber, Senior Warden with Trinity Episcopal Church on East Market Street, said church staff had found water pouring through the walls of the building’s lower level, with mud and water accumulating.
The church staff calculated that about half a million gallons of water had flowed into the church.
The church was shut down and condemned by the city for the time being. Even the church’s foundations were washed away to some degree, Grieshaber said.
He said the front of the building suffered the most damage.
The rebuilding of the church began in 2025. Repairs are about 50% completed in terms of expenditures, he said.
He said the Alvin Butz Company is serving as the church’s general contractor.
He said it took about five or six months for the floors to be removed, the soil replaced, and for new plumbing to be installed in the floor.
The main areas of the church are about 155 years old, he said. Additions to the church were built in the 1920’s.
Joanne Gulya, Junior Warden with Trinity Episcopal Church, said church staff now have the opportunity to not only restore the church, but to also improve on it. She said she wants the church to be part of the community again.
Christ UCC Church, which is across the street from Trinity Episcopal Church, has given the church a temporary home while repairs continue.
Trinity Episcopal Church’s congregation has been stalwart throughout the whole process, she said.
“The church is not a building, it’s people,” she said.
Anyone who wants to support the church’s rebuilding efforts can go to its website. Gulya said there are multiple ways to contribute.
She said she wants to make the church as welcoming to everyone as possible.
Staff hope to have the church open by the end of this year.