Christ the King Church worships in a historic church building in Central Square in Cambridge. Built in 1851, it is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been a site of worship for over 170 years. The fellowship hall annex was added in 1879.  Both structures are composed of load-bearing masonry. 

Christ the King purchased the building in 1995, after about 25 years of vacancy.  A variety of interior renovations and improvements have been performed over the past 25 years. These include repair of the stained-glass windows, replastering and painting, floor refinishing, and installation of modern bathrooms, a commercial kitchen, and updated electrical and heating systems, as well as AC and Sunday School classrooms. The roof was replaced in 2010, but the structural masonry which exhibited signs of extensive weather damage had not been addressed.

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From 2021-2023, we went through a substantial restoration of the building. Renovations were directed by the CTK building committee, which was a function of the CTK diaconate but was open to others from the congregation.  The building committee met monthly and included

• 4 deacons: Joe Buckley, Mike Poor, Jesse Porch, and Andy Stuntz

• 2 deacon’s assistants: Janis Dietz and Martha Olson

• 1 elder: Tim Dietz

• 1 staff member: Dana Russell

• 1 other congregant: Tim Talun

The committee was chaired by Janis Dietz.

During this time, we completed the following renovations:

• Sanctuary Interior (February - March 2021):
  Repair cracks in the sanctuary ceiling, stabilize medallions and other decorative elements on the ceiling, repaint the walls and ceiling, replace the carpet, and refinish the hardwood floor under the pews.

• Tower and Sanctuary Masonry (May 2022-Feb 2023):
  Complete repointing and rebuilding of the brick and mortar exterior with repair of architectural features that are both decorative and structural, performed by Folan Waterproofing and Construction of South Easton, MA.

• Tower and Sanctuary Roof (May-Dec 2022):
  Replace gutters, gutter expansion joints, and downspouts, replace rotted wood details, and repair roof shingles, performed by WS Aiken Roofing of Chelsea, MA in combination with Folan Waterproofing and Construction.

• Tower Stained Glass Window (May-Dec 2022):
  Repair the large arched front window, performed by Joe Buckley (Buckley Contracting).

• Sanctuary Roof Structural Reinforcement (Jan-Sep 2023): Production and installation of steel truss bracing to relieve original wood attic trusses, which are stressed beyond normal practice and may not be able to bear a significant additional load like heavy snow. Performed by YSC (Yankee Steeplejack Company) of Harvard, MA under direction of Structures North Consulting Engineers of Salem, MA.

• Fellowship Hall Masonry (Apr-Aug 2023): Repointing and rebuilding of brick and mortar exterior with repair of structural architectural features, performed by Folan Waterproofing and Construction of South Easton, MA.

In 2020, CTK hired Concord Reserve Advisors (CRA) to perform a building needs assessment that reviewed the age and condition of every major component of the building and provided a 20-year projected repair and replacement schedule. CRA found that the building interior has largely been maintained, but the building exterior was in poor condition and overdue for extensive repairs to masonry, windows, and doors. CRA also identified some repairs and painting in the sanctuary as near-time maintenance priorities.

Following the CRA report, we hired Scott Winkler of Wessling Architecture and John Wathne of Structures North Engineering to perform a more detailed analysis of the existing condition of the exterior using a lift and soundings throughout the building. Their analysis in March 2021 indicated that for public safety, we had 0 to 5 years to address the structural stability of a large portion of the exterior of the building. The elders and deacons of the church decided it was important to initiate the exterior repairs, especially since God had blessed us with a significant portion of the needed funds in the form of a generous bequest from a person who attended the church in the mid-1990s.

The building committee, with the help of Scott Winkler, solicited bids for the masonry restoration from eight qualified local contractors.  Six partial and three complete bids were received and analyzed.  The complete bids ranged from $1.6 to $2.6 million.  The lowest bid, by Folan Waterproofing and Construction was awarded.  The Folan Company has 53 years of experience working on similar projects in the greater Boston area and has proven to be an excellent choice for this restoration work. This work was begun in April 2022.  Restoration of the sanctuary and tower were completed in December 2022.  Restoration of the fellowship hall annex was begun in April 2023 and was completed in August 2023.

During the exterior masonry repairs, the building committee engaged John Wathne of Structures North Consulting Engineers (CTK’s structural engineer) to perform a detailed assessment of the sanctuary roof support structure. This interior analysis raised concerns about the stability of the roof structure that were not evident from earlier external assessments of the building shell. The engineer noted that the original wood attic trusses supporting the roof of the sanctuary were stressed beyond normal practice, had experienced partial failure (cracking) in two places, and may not have been able to bear a significant additional load like heavy snow.

In November 2022 the building committee, with the help of John Wathne, solicited bids for reinforcement of the sanctuary roof structure.  In December, three bids were received between $315k and $470k for a minimum stabilization of the sanctuary roof and between $524k and $545k for full reinforcement up to modern code standards.  At the recommendation of the building committee and deacons, the Session approved funding for the full reinforcement and the project was awarded to YSC, which submitted the lowest bid and has the most experience with similar projects. 

YSC began work in January 2023. This work took longer than planned because the attic space is very tight and meticulous care was taken to construct custom parts to fit this old structure.  Once all of the steel reinforcing trusses were manufactured and installed, the contractor and Structures North collaborated to lift the load from the old wooden trusses. The project was completed in September 2023.

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The following table summarizes the cost of the renovations:

We relied on several sources of funds for the renovations:

CTK took out a $500,000 loan on 7/28/2022 to allow continued progress on the renovations without an immediate fundraising campaign. Additional funding is needed to pay off the loan. As of early 2023, our funding (including the loan) was insufficient to complete the full fellowship hall masonry repairs, so the Session committed an additional $70,000 in order to complete the work.

If you would like to give to the CTK Building Fund dedicated to funding the repair and restoration of the building (including continued repayment of our $500,000 loan), you can contribute online through Church Center Online using a credit or debit card or ACH bank transfer: https://ctkcambridge.churchcenter.com/giving/to/cambridge-building-fund

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