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Jesse Lee Church was founded as a community in 1789, with the current house of worship dedicated in 1813, making it one of the first Methodist church established in New England. Still standing regally on Flat Rock Road, the church's originally carpentry began to falter and eventually forced parish leaders to replace the aging roof.
"We were looking to replace the roof and Kurt was recommended to us," said Jim Riling, Chairman of the Church's Board of Trustees. "He made it clear he wanted to maintain the integrity of the church and no damage was done to the building's history."
Upon inspection, Stowell and his team determined a complete re-roofing was necessary. Stripping the roof down to the beams, his team set to work removing the old timbers and began laying a foundation for the new roof. "I had to approach it with baby gloves," said Stowell, the Owner Operator of KRS Roofing. "It’s a special place; lots of really really good things have happened there and I had to respect that"
In order to preserve the sacredness of the space, Stowell only allowed small groups of his team to work at a time. Despite working in limited numbers, the job was completed in near record time. According to Stowell, the goal on most jobs is to show up Monday morning and be done by Saturday afternoon. In this case, KRS was putting the finishing touches on the new roof by lunchtime on Saturday.
The congregation was awestruck with the results. "It was phenomenal, the time and the care he showed," said Riling. "Kurt did a fantastic job and made sure everything was taken care of and safeguarded."
Reflecting on the job, Stowell cherishes being part of such a special project. "You’re not just working for one person, you’re working for a congregation," he said. "You need to make sure everyone is happy. It’s the Lord’s building, but you try to make everyone else happy too."
