A historic Gardiner church with a bell crafted by Paul Revere & Sons is working to save a piece of history.

Christ Church, located on the city common, is the oldest Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maine. Although originally organized in 1771, the current church made of Hallowell granite dates to 1820 and sits high above the riverside city.

But last year, a $1 million estimate for work to the tower that houses the Revere bell — one of 14 in Maine — stunned the Rev. Kerry Mansir.

“Where do you even start?” she said. “We’re not in the situation where we are going to raise $1 million within our church.”

The church, which has about 80 congregants most Sundays, had just relied on a donation to cover the cost of restoring stained-glass windows. Then a buildings and grounds person discovered missing mortar in the granite bell tower.

“There are places, if you’re looking from the inside of the tower, where you can put a whole hand between the stone,” Mansir said.

Consultants told the church in 2022 that they have about two years to get the work done before it becomes a serious structural problem.

Christ Church in Gardiner sits at one end of the town common and serves as a community gathering place, but is in need of an estimated $1 million in repairs. (Spectrum News/Susan Cover)

They got some small grants, but quickly realized that it would not be possible to string together enough small-dollar funds to get to $1 million.

They applied for federal funds through Sen. Susan Collins’ office and are hopeful that if the current budget proposal gets approved, they will get $890,000 in federal historic funds.

Mansir said going through the process of applying for federal help served as a powerful reminder of how much a role the church plays in the city, from community suppers to a meeting place for local Scouts.

Throughout history, the Revere bill was rung to warn residents of fires and floods and to call them to temperance meetings, according to the church website.

Today, children ring the bell after church services each Sunday, Mansir said, using a long rope that extends almost to the church entrance.

It’s built in the “Gothick” style, the first of its kind in New England. In 1973, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

If all goes as planned, they hope to launch the bell tower renovation project in the spring of 2025.

The project has brought to the fore an interesting conversation in the church in which they are trying to balance their obligation to maintain a historic landmark versus their mission to serve the community, Mansir said.

“We have this historic building that we are stewards of,” she said. “We really do feel like that’s part of who Christ Church is, is stewarding this building because of its historic importance. How do we balance care of people in this community with this big effort to preserve the building?”