The church without a church suddenly has a lot of real estate.
Steamtown Church, the five-year-old nondenominational church that meets in a downtown motel, recently bought the former St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, a soaring, century-old landmark in South Scranton.
"We need to tether the old to the new," lead pastor Dennis D'Augostine said last week during a break from renovations at the church at Pittston Avenue and Fig Street.
Since its inaugural service at the Red Carpet Inn and Suites in 2008, Steamtown has tried to balance a casual hipness that appeals to young members with an earnest embrace of seekers familiar with a more staid church experience.
More new, nondenominational churches in the region have since taken root in unconventional spaces, like movie theaters and storefronts, following a national movement to define "church" as separate from its meeting place. But in a city of churches, Steamtown's leaders found that holding worship services in the ballroom of a budget motel can be an obstacle.
"People have said, when you get a church we'll come visit," Pastor D'Augostine said. "We're in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and for a lot of people, church is a place."
On Wednesday, he stood below the pipe organ loft - "We want to do hymns," he said - in a space that will be filled with cafe tables for fellowship and coffee before and after services. At the front of the church where an altar once stood there is now a raised rear-projection screen for displaying visual accompaniments during sermons.
Steamtown is keeping the traditional pews and adding chairs up front to bring people closer to the stage in a less formal setting. Artists will paint Stations of the Cross on the walls between the stained-glass windows.
Pastor D'Augostine said the neighborhood has been very welcoming of the new church and Steamtown has been careful to respect the building's past and its place in the community. Historical artifacts are being saved and brought to Andrew Brown's drug store across the street so they can be put on display.
Members of the former St. John the Evangelist parish, which merged with others during the Diocese of Scranton's years-long restructuring program before the church was sold, have visited to reflect on the space as it was and as it is.
"They wanted to have a moment," the pastor said. "It was important for us to let them."
Steamtown sees the new neighborhood as an opportunity to welcome people of diverse ages, races, backgrounds and means. "We came here to grow," Pastor D'Augostine said.
The Steamtown congregation will begin meeting at the church in June and plans a full grand opening for the Easter season next year. Current members are excited for the church's new home, the pastor said.
"Brick and mortar does something to people's hearts," he said. "It makes them believe you're committed to the long haul."
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com