People looking for a spiritual lift at Church of Our Savior may find a literal answer to their prayers, especially if they’ve had trouble climbing the steps leading into the building.
The congregation planned to unveils its new elevator at a ceremony today (Sunday, June 6).
“In the time I’ve been here, there has always been a parishioner who wants to go to services but can’t, because the stairs are too steep,” said Pastor Mark Lewis, who has been with Church of Our Savior for 10 years. “It is a scandal if you ask me, that the church that claims to have open doors should be the place that’s inaccessible. These people can go to the doctor or the grocery store because those places have made themselves accessible.” The church had been discussing options for making the building handicapped-accessible since 2000. Options such as a ramp were impractical because to reach a height of seven feet, it would have had to wrap around the building to be of use, likely wearing out the people who need to use it.
“Stanley and Lucille Russell were our oldest parishioners, in their 90s, and by gosh, they made the effort to climb those steps,” said Lewis. “To within weeks of their death [in 2003], they came to church. It was a priority to them, and they weren’t going to stay home no matter how hard it was for them.”
When the Russells died in 2003, their daughters, Susan Jacobson and Frances Solter, decided to donate the lift as a memorial to their parents.
“Their daughters said essentially, enough of that, we’re putting in the elevator as a memorial,” said Lewis. “It was a great thing.”
In town since 1925
Church of our Savior was built in 1925 when the Episcopal Diocese of Newark bought the building from a Sears Roebuck catalog. In 1953, Route 3 was built. The congregation was able to move the actual building to its present location.
Parishioners wanted to build a basement parish hall, so they placed the building on a new foundation that left it 6 feet higher than it was before.
“At the time, their hearts were in the right place. In the ’50s, handicapped people weren’t in the mainstream of planning and thinking,” said Lewis. “But times have changed and I have watched a procession o people struggling to get into the building as they aged, until finally they couldn’t.”
The elevator is located on the Second Avenue side of the church, and lifts parishioners 6.5 feet from street level to the church. People operate it using a universal key, which is standard across the country.
“If you get ours, you can go to Yosemite and use their elevator,” said Lewis. “It’s so the people who need it can use it, but other people can’t play with it.”
The church has events throughout the week in addition to Sunday services.
“People forget that churches are not just about going to services on Sunday,” Lewis said. “We have everything from small community concerts, nursing school graduations, speakers, and craft groups. There is someone there every day of the week and every night.”
Lewis doesn’t anticipate that there are many people who need to use the elevator – there are no parishioners who need it at present – but he says that it is the message that is important.
“It’s not the volume; it’s the principle,” he said. “It’s like putting a sign outside of the church that says that we really mean it when we say that everyone is welcome here, and I think that’s an important sign to put on a church at a time when plenty of other churches define themselves by who’s not welcome.”
Lewis said that the lift can also be of use to people recovering from surgery, or experiencing other temporary setbacks to mobility. It is also a tool for caregivers.
“One parishioner whose husband died last year said that in the last year, you realize how your life changes when you’re plunged into the world of wheelchairs, and how it limits your life,” Lewis said.
Lewis said that the town has been helpful in helping out in terms of permitting and other hurdles.
“We try in any way we can to help any of our churches to get through the process,” said Mayor Dennis Elwell. “Through all our professionals, we do what we can to make it easier. For us, they’re an important part of our community.”