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Ring and a prayer: Work to begin soon on Becket church's historic, beetle-damaged belfry berkshireeagle.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from berkshireeagle.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
BECKET â A local congregation is rallying the town to save its historic house of worship ravaged by a wood-boring bug. The 40-member First Congregational Church needs to raise $200,000 toward renovations and repairs of the 171-year-old church, which is being eaten away by the powderpost beetle. Temporary structural supports have been installed to stabilize the bell tower. A study approved by voters at the 2020 annual town meeting found that more than 50 percent of the wood in the building was hollowed out or damaged. STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN â THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE Church officials hope townspeople will kick in the first $100,000 by spending money saved through the Community Preservation Act, a state-backed municipal tax assessed on home and business owners for preservation, saving open space, and encouraging recreation and affordable housing in a Massachusetts city or town. Rita Furlong, a church trustee and organist, says the ....