This Christmas is special for the members of the First Baptist Church in Conshohocken. They celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ for the first time in their new home; a building constructed in the footprint of their old church that burned down in 2005.
"It's a joy to be together tonight," said Pastor Bradley Lacey, opening his Christmas Eve sermon.
"The Lord even gave us a White Christmas."
Only a small portion of the new church was open for worship. The rest of the building is not yet finished.
Roof workers were doing repairs on the original building when the fire started. Lacey and congregants watched in disbelief as the blaze dismantled a significant piece of Conshohocken's history.
"I literally watched the church burn to the ground," said Carol Redington as she prayed in the new building.
"Tears were rolling down my cheeks."
Members met at The Fellowship House a couple blocks over in the years since, all the while working towards the construction of a new building.
Lacey says progress slowed a bit due to tough economic times and a rising cost of steel.
However, Christmas Eve proved to be the turning point many were looking for, being in a new home for the first time in almost eight years.
"It is fabulous," Lacey said. "It is a joy and it feels like home."
Their stay is only temporary for now. The building will close once again as crews finish construction. Lacey hopes to be fully moved in by Easter. They will go back to The Fellowship House of Conshohocken in the meantime.
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