Parishioners of the Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Plainsboro will have to continue celebrating mass and other activities outside their own church building for the time being.
A roof collapse early in the morning of January 19 left the building deemed “unsafe” by Plainsboro Township officials. Since then, mass has been held at St. Joseph’s Seminary on Mapleton Road.
On the morning of January 19, a maintenance worker was the only person in the building. “He heard a loud crash, so he ran upstairs to see what happened,” said Rev. Robert Medley, the pastor at the church.
“There are two support beams that come into a peak above the sanctuary of the church,” Medley added. “They were held in place by a piece of steel. That steel piece broke.”
As a result, the roof came crashing down by two or three inches, but it fell against the back wall, which held it up and kept it from completely falling, Medley said.
“Some members of the parish building committee were called, and township officials were called,” Medley said. “The township declared the building unsafe.”
The next day officials had to get the roof held up, so they installed a shoring system from the basement, through the kitchen, through the sanctuary, and to the roof. The sanctuary floor needed to be dismantled piece-by-piece to enable the scaffolding to be built as part of the shoring system.
Since that time, the parish has hired a project manager and engineer. “From here, we’ll send out a scope of work to contractors so they can bid on it and do the fix,” said Medley.
When asked whether the weather played a factor in the roof collapse, Medley said “they really don’t know what caused it yet,” he said. The church was built about 20 years ago.
Mass is currently being held at the Miraculous Medal Chapel at St. Joseph’s Seminary at 65 Mapleton Road. “They’ve opened up their chapel for us just for masses,” he said. “The rest of the community has opened up their spaces as well. Many, many places have been generous.”
Most of the church’s meetings and events are being held in places like Town Center Elementary School, Princeton Alliance Church, Nativity of Our Lord Church, St. Paul Church, St. Augustine Church, the Wyndhurst Clubhouse, and the homes of parishioners, among other places.
Medley said the church will be out of commission for at least several more weeks, and it could be a couple of months before the repairs are final.
But “the church is still active, and the community is still coming together,” he said. “My hope is that people will continue to find us. The best way to do that is check the parish website.”
On the website, www.qomchurch.org, Medley offered a letter to his parishioners commending them for being patient during the process. “I am impressed by all of you — your understanding, patience, and offers of prayerful support have been so encouraging and helpful,” he wrote. “Let us continue to pray for one another during this time, and let us see this time as an opportunity to know and serve the Lord more fully.”
He also said in the letter that he was hopeful “that you will continue to find us and that you will support our parish activities more than ever during this time.”
