South Bushwick church stood 173 years until devastating fire. Its leaders aim to rebuild.

Leaders of the 173-year-old South Bushwick Reformed Church said building officials are expected to determine this weekend whether they will need to level their parish, after a devastating fire Friday afternoon tore through the wood-frame worship hall and left the rectory water damaged.

Fire department officials said the blaze started shortly before 1:30 p.m., sending smoke that multiple reports said could be seen for miles as it billowed into the sky. The cause of the fires is under investigation, FDNY officials said. It severely damaged the Bushwick Avenue church’s main structure, including a spire and steeple that was repaired in the last few years after damage from multiple storms, including a 2006 tornado.

Pastor James Steward said he expects the church’s own engineer will meet with city officials Sunday to determine whether they can save the rectory hall.

“We imagine it’s going to be a major financial blow, and so we're really hoping that the community can rally around this — the city agencies can rally around it, the state and federal agencies can rally around this, politicians as well,” Steward said.

Steward said he’s been in touch with several local elected officials, including the mayor’s office and local members of the City Council. State Attorney General Letitia James visited the site Friday and said she expects grants and government support will help the congregation to rebuild, according to an ABC report. Brooklyn Borough president Antonio Reynoso also visited the church on Friday.

The Dutch Reformed church was first built in 1853 in the Greek Revival architectural style, but with a Georgian-inspired tower and steeple, according to the National Fund for Sacred Places, which provided a grant for repairs in 2021. About 20 families from neighboring farms made up its original congregation. Church leaders say a few dozen people attend today.

Myeika Steward, the pastor’s wife, said her family had been with the congregation for 14 years. It’s the only church their children — ages 11, 13 and 15 — have ever known, and the first church James Steward served after graduating from seminary.

“ We didn't have a lot of members, but we were a church that were small in number and we did whatever we could for the community,” she said.

She said her family was about to hold a Juneteenth barbecue at their home behind the church when the fire began.

Since then, people have been driving by, wishing the congregation well, and expressing hopes the church is rebuilt, Myeika Steward said.

“We've had people literally drive by screaming as they saw it, because they're used to seeing the steeple there, especially as they go on the J train or around,” she said.

It’s been listed on the National Register for Historic Places since 1982, and landmarked by the city since 1968. A Landmarks Preservation Commission report at the time describes its architecture and dominant features: “the classic portico, and the soaring tower which rises from a square base through a handsome octagonal belfry to an octagonal spire.”

“This type of steeple once characterized the skyline of London with its appearance on the numerous churches which the architect [Sir Christopher] Wren and his follower [James] Gibbs Gibbs built to replace those lost in the Great Fire,” the commission wrote.

A 2020 tropical storm pushed the church spire askew — it had been repaired after past storms, but the underlying issues remained and the church’s leadership had often considered demolishing it “due to alarm at its recurring lean,” the National Fund wrote in its history of the church. But the fund’s grant of $25,000 along with $75,000 raised by the congregation, made recent repairs possible.

James Steward said he hopes to see that generosity come through again in the days ahead. A GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $2,000 by Saturday afternoon. According to the campaign, any money raised will be used for emergency stabilization of the property, temporary working space, community outreach and repairs.

Monika Judkins, the music and worship director, said the church has been committed to giving back to the community through toy drives, turkey giveaways and free concerts.

“It was a place where we could just be us,” Judkins said.