BY ADAM ATKINSON

North Country This Week

POTSDAM — A benefit concert series is planned to help raise money for an extensive $4.8 million restoration of the historic Trinity Episcopal Church on Fall Island.

The project is expected to span 8 years and will address some pressing needs for the building which was built in the 1830s and is starting to show the effects of decades of hard winters.

“First priorities will include stabilizing and repair of the tower, re-pointing the main entry, and re-masoning and stoning the north and west walls,” said Laura Gutenmann, senior warden, and Deborah Lauther, junior warden.

“The last rehab was done in 2006 when the roof was replaced,” the wardens told North Country This Week in an email. “At that time the masonry in the areas where the roof and the sandstone meet needed quite a bit of work. Over the decades work has been done to the building on an ‘as needed basis.’ Unfortunately what were once small issues have become large ones.”

“For the future of the building, major work must be undertaken immediately to prevent further deterioration,” Gutenmann and Lauther said.

The church will be working with Lupini Construction, Inc. of Utica. The firm recently completed work at St. Lawrence University and are presently working on Bayside Cemetery. “They are trained to do restoration on historic structures such as Trinity and we have full confidence in them,” the wardens said.

A variety of fund-raising actions are being undertaken including grant-writing and grass-roots fundraising events.

The church will get things started with the concert series held at the church.

A variety of local talent are scheduled to perform.

The first show will be Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. with Maria Tartaglia and Friends who will perform light opera and original compositions.

The band Firefly will perform folk and contemporary on Sept. 24 at 3 p.m.

On Oct. 1 at 3 p.m. New Orleans North will play traditional jazz.

Finally a children’s concert with the popular North Country favorite Animal Crackers is scheduled for Oct. 7 at 11 a.m.

Tickets may be purchased for $10 each, and are available at the door, through the church office, and Brick and Mortar Music, 15 Market St.

A donation box will also be available during each of the concerts.

For more information, contact the church at 315-265-5754, or TrinityPotsdam@gmail.com.

For ticket purchases, the office is open Tuesday-Friday from 12-4 p.m.

“Every Sunday for nearly two hundred years Episcopalians have gathered at Trinity Episcopal Church to worship God in the beauty of holiness and to be reminded that a parish does not exist for itself,” said the Rev. Jonathan Beck, new Priest-in-Charge since February 2023. “As a priest I was taught that every member of the community, whether or not they are Sunday regulars, is a parishioner.”

“In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, parish churches have always played a significant role in the life of the town,” Beck said. “One of the reasons churches like Trinity are large and beautiful is because they were built to be a place not only for worship but for the greater community. It is our hope that Trinity will remain both a place of Christian worship and a vibrant place for the entire community in the years to come.”