LEWISTON -Organizers are trying to raise enough money to keep the spires of Saints Peter and Paul Church lit past the holidays

A group of Lewiston residents banded together last year to raise enough money to get the spires lit. That group raised $26,000 – enough to get the light fixtures in place and keep them lit each night since February.

“The problem now is that our fund is nearly exhausted,” said parishioner Ed Plourde. Plourde spearheaded the effort last year and is one of two people left from the original lighting committee.

“There’s me, and there’s the person that writes the check to CMP,” he said. “That’s it, except for our past donors.”

Plourde began working to light the nighttime spires about four years ago, part of a larger effort to illuminate Lewiston-Auburn landmarks. Central Maine Power donated temporary lights in 2001 to show the community what lighting the church would do.

The community responded by raising $26,000. That paid for six 1,000-watt light fixtures surrounding the building and three 400-watt fixtures on the Bartlett Street side. It also paid for electricity to keep the fixtures lit.

Plourde said the electricity to power the lights costs about $1,000 per year, with the biggest bills coming during the gloomy late fall and winter months. He’s responded by shortening the hours the church is lit. Originally, the lights were to stay on from sunset to 11 p.m. in the winter and midnight during the summer.

“But we adjusted that down an hour to save money,” he said. “Now, they’ll go off at 10 p.m. for the winter.”

The Gothic cathedral-style building has dominated Lewiston’s daylight skyline for nearly 70 years. Work on the building began in 1905 and wrapped up almost 33 years later. The church is the second largest in New England.

“It’s been very well received, even beyond the community,” Plourde said. “We’ve had people see it from the turnpike, then get off at Exit 13 to investigate. It is just so striking.”

Plourde said he’s hoping to raise $5,000 by February. That should be enough to pay for another 1,000-watt fixture on the Bartlett Street side of the church, bulb replacement costs for the entire array and electricity for several years.

“We’d love to see it become an endowment, but we’ll do what we can,” Plourde said.

Donations can be mailed to Saints Peter and Paul Church lighting, 27 Bartlett St., Lewiston, Maine, 04240.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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