Historic Marlin church’s congregation looking for a miracle

[TexasTowelie]

Staff photo— Rod Aydelotte
The historic St. Paul United Church of Christ is on FM 2307, off Texas Highway 6 between Riesel and Marlin.

A 97-year-old church building just outside the Falls County community of Marlin speaks to the artistic soul of photographers and artists from around the country who pause to capture its image.

But St. Paul United Church of Christ has a secret that passersby know nothing about, something that threatens its future, has rallied its small congregation to action and has become an obsession for Waco architect B.J. “Billy” Greaves, who thinks he was meant to come to the church’s rescue.

Shifting ground now firmly hugs the walls of the building’s basement, squeezing them like a vise and putting the entire wooden structure in jeopardy. When the soil becomes wet from rainfall, water seeps through cracks in those walls. But without those faults, pressure would build to a point at which the barriers likely would explode.

A pump removes moisture that builds up in the basement, the process begins again, and decades have passed without a permanent solution.

Read more: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/religion/historic-marlin-church-s-congregation-looking-for-a-miracle/article_df1954ef-e28b-5f9e-8106-2a92b8be4f67.html