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Although repairs were made regularly, the church
slowly fell into disrepair. The beautiful woodwork on the sanctuary
altar and the choir loft had been painted white. Part of the arched
porch facing Junius was enclosed and turned into restrooms, and a
neon sign in the shape of a cross was placed on the exterior of the
building. The ceiling in the Brotherhood Hall was covered and lowered
when it was converted into offices and classrooms. Eventually, the
stained glass windows which had been covered with plexiglas to protect
them started to cloud and crack so that the scenes in the windows
could no longer be seen from the exterior. As
with any building, things became worn and needed repair or replacement:
the rugs became tattered, the plaster was cracked and flaking, and
the church needed painting. It hadn’t been painted in 25 to
30 years. Yet, the ultimate motivator was the fact that Trinity
United Methodist Church which had been located on McKinney Ave and
built in 1903, had burned in 1983. Realizing this, Grace Methodist
parishioners made an extra effort to update existing facilities,
especially the 1903 electrical wiring and the plumbing to ensure
the survival of Grace United Methodist Church.
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