When the big backhoe comes crashing down on the roof of the First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach this week beginning the demolition of the sanctuary, the congregation will be rejoicing.

The demolition signals the start of the reconstruction of this iconic local landmark that will rise again, higher and more beautiful than ever, hopefully by Easter Sunday 2027, when parishioners will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“We’re doing this not because we wanted to, but because we had to,” explains Rev. Timothy Womack, senior pastor of the church at the busy corner of Indian River Boulevard and Royal Palm Boulevard that most Vero residents drive pass several times a week.

Womack, who has led the congregation for the last 25 years and has seen steady growth in membership, church attendance and community involvement, explained that the $16 million reconstruction project was necessary because the church was no longer able to get insurance for the present structure built in 1955.

It was extensively damaged by Hurricanes Jean and Francis in 2004, and is now located below flood plain, which is also why the church was unable to obtain the necessary permits for repairs.

The new building will be raised about 3 feet, and will still feature the same kind of iconic belltower and cross.  It also will preserve the old church’s unique stained-glass windows, which will be reinstalled higher up on the walls, making them even more visible to passing motorists.

Back in the day, the old church won an architectural award and great care is being taken that the new building will not be a step back.

“We realize we are part of the great community of Vero Beach,” Womack says, “and we are doing our best to make our new sanctuary esthetically pleasing, not only for our own congregants, but for the entire community that we form part of.”

Since last June, the contractor, the local Proctor Construction company, started fencing off the property to begin demolition work and Sunday worship services were moved to adjoining McAfee Hall, part of the church complex. Roof demolition will begin this week, once the local health department attests that the asbestos installed below the roof tiles back in the 1950s has been safely removed and disposed of.

Womack says that at present, the church has already obtained commitments for between $14 million and $15 million of the total estimated construction costs and he is confident that by the time the project is finishing, the entire $16 million will have been raised, all from private sources.

“Our people have been incredibly generous; they have given what they can and we are grateful for the enormous support we have received,” Womack says.

The new building will feature important improvements over the present structure. The current sanctuary is 30 rows deep, meaning that people sitting in the back are far from the pulpit and the center of the service. The new sanctuary will be semi-circular in shape but only 12 rows deep, meaning churchgoers will have a “closer, more engaged worship experience,” according to the church’s website.

A new additional feature is a so-called narthex, an entrance or lobby area that serves as a gathering space before entering the main part of the church, an area to greet people as they enter or exit the church. The present sanctuary had no such space – it was either in or out.

But the greatest care will be taken in the salvaging – and later re-installing – the “dalle de verre” art glass depicting scenes from the Bible. This 19th century French method uses hand-chipped glass much thicker than stained glass, joins it together in a bed of cement or epoxy, and arranges it on a bed of sand encased in a steel frame.

The church partnered with Pickel Studios of Vero Beach for careful removal, safe storage and eventual restoration of 107 panels. In the new structure, the panels will no longer be exposed to the elements, but instead will be back-lit with LED lighting.

In the new construction, the ground-floor windows will be of clear glass, and the restored stained-glass windows will adorn the higher levels, making them starkly visible to passing motorists.

“It will be absolutely gorgeous,” Womack says. “We believe it will add significant beauty to a crucial intersection in Vero Beach and to our community at large.”

First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach serves between 1,000 and 1,200 people, about 800 of whom are full-time year-around members.  But Womack says the real measure of the impact of the church on the community is in church attendance, which has risen slowly but steadily in the 25 years that he has been the senior pastor.

Because a growing number of Hispanic residents of the Vero Beach area have started attending, the church is now also looking into starting Spanish-language services, although Womack admits he won’t be able to officiate at those himself. “The only Spanish I remember is from the soccer games I played as a kid, and that won’t get me very far,” Womack jokes. 

The church buildings are also at the center of many other civic activities not directly related to religion.

“We have people going in and out of here all the time, and we like it that way,” Womack says. Some of the organizations utilizing the property of the church buildings and its various annexes are paying tenants and others are not, but no one will be inconvenienced because of the reconstruction project. They can all be accommodated and the church rarely turns anyone away.

Among the other users of the facilities, Womack lists a pre-school programs, charity bridge tournaments, a ladies’ quilting group, several 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, a stamp club, musical performances by touring choirs from as far away as Uganda, men’s forums and even a men’s finance group that teaches financial skills.

The church is strictly non-political and tries to stay clear of divisive culture war issues that have roiled other churches and denominations.

“We do not command uniformity,” Womack says. “We are unified only in our faith. We never seek to be partisan, but we are always principled. We take people as they come to us – we love them all as God’s children.”