For more than 80 years, Timmons Temple Church of God in Christ served as a church home in Springfield’s African-American community.
Today, volunteers are working hard to breathe new life into the historic building.
Friends of Timmons Temple are working hard to complete renovations inside and out, following the church’s 2015 relocation to Silver Springs Park.
By then, the congregation had outgrown the rock masonry church on east Webster Street, bought a new building and moved out. The old building was sold and slated for demotion, to make way for new apartments.
That’s where Friends of Timmons Temple stepped in, working with the developer to save the building, and raising donations to move it 600 feet, into the nearby park.
[pullquote]Paula Ringer, co-chair of Friends of Timmons Temple, said the church was preserved because of its historic significance as well as its unique stone exterior, including ornate rock sunburst patterns also found in retaining walls in Silver Springs Park.[/pullquote]
“(Pastor) Timmons himself brought limestone from Jordan Creek to the construction site by mule and wagon,” said Ringer. “And most of the field rock on the back of the church, that was from the construction site. It was a labor of love that built this building, for everyone that was involved in it.”
Since its relocation, Friends of Timmons Temple has continued raising funds and working with contractors to renovate the building. The building now has a new roof; connection to water, sanitary sewer and electric service; plumbing, framing and installation of new restrooms; new exterior concrete steps, ramp and sidewalks, and new wiring and lighting. Much of the work has been donated through the Building and Construction Trade Council of Springfield and Vicinity, which coordinated work through its apprenticeship program.
Still on the list: refinishing the building’s pine floors, plaster repair, restoration of painted wainscoting, new heating and air conditioning, and restoration of the stone work on the front porch, and indoor and outdoor interpretive displays to help tell the story of Timmons Temple. Ringer said she hopes the project is complete by the end of 2017.
When finished, Timmons Temple will serve the community as an event center, operated by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
Ringer said one thing that helps inspire her to see the massive project through is the thought of music returning to the building.
“People would line up along the sidewalk in the summertime just to hear the music coming from the church,” she said. “Some people say it sounded like a jazz concert. The thought of having music; it just breathes life into the building. It’ll bring back something that was always there.”
The Timmons Temple renovation is financed entirely by donations and in-kind labor, with the fund managed by Community Foundation of the Ozarks. Fundraising efforts continue at http://friendsoftimmonstemple.org.