75.0°

Spending an afternoon defacing a church won't win you many fans in this life or the next, but Sunday was an exception.

Church-goers and the Juneau community at-large turned out for an event that encouraged all-comers to sign, draw and share messages on an exterior wall of the new McPhetres Hall, a community space that's being rebuilt along with the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church at Fourth and Gold streets downtown.

The messages were posted on plywood and will remain there indefinitely after redwood siding is mounted over it as construction continues on the structure.

"It won't be visible to the naked eye, but it will be there," the Rev. George Silides said.

The original church and hall, built in 1896 and 1956, respectively, burned down in a March 2006 fire that began outside a neighboring home.

The buildings were insured, but short of the $5.2 million cost for a modern rebuild. The church is about a quarter of the way to its $1.5 million fundraising goal for the rebuild, according to a church pamphlet describing the project and soliciting donations. Construction began in the spring and is expected to be complete some time in 2009.

Silides said he considers the community's messages on the wall just as valid a contribution to the project as money.

"I take it very seriously. It's still a contribution. It's still meaningful," he said. "It's more about people that do participate in this - underneath it all, that they've contributed."

Church member Alison Talley said when her house was being built, she and her husband had a similar signing party.

"Our friends signed and gave messages for us inside the studs of our new house. ... It meant a lot to us to be able to stand by a particular window frame and think about what our friends had written," Talley said.

Talley said she didn't realize what an attachment she had to the old church and hall until they were gone.

"Before the church burned, I didn't think much about the building. It was just a place where we met. It was old and drafty," she said. "After it burned, I felt like I lost a good friend. It was so strange not being there. I guess I always took it for granted."

Church member Jonathan Pollard stapled photos of his family on the wall.

"If that ever gets to see the light of day again, my family's going to be there smiling. If the plumber opens that up, he'll see us," Pollard said.

Losing the church was a tragedy, but also an opportunity.

"I'll never forget how desolate I felt watching that church burn down. It's been a long process rebuilding," Pollard said. But, "We learned we don't need that stuff. Those trappings are really important to the ceremonial part of church, but really not necessary. That fire taught us a lot of lessons. That was one of them."

McPhetres Hall was particularly missed in the community because it had been the site of concerts, theater performances, dances, dinners, weddings and many other community events. Another silver lining in the fire was the chance to rebuild McPhetres with modern and more functional amenities. Pam Finley, a member of the church and its building committee, said the old hall was basically "a big all-purpose room."

It worked as a performance venue, but it was difficult to arrange lighting, and attendees had to wait out in the rain before being seated. Both issues have been addressed in the new design.

Finley said her message on the wall is about the hall's importance.

"I just want to tell any future generation that may read this how much having a community building means to me. I don't imagine anyone's going to read it for a long time."

Silides said he hopes the new McPhetres Hall will continue to be an important public space in the city for years to come.

"We hope to put a new building up that will have a long-lived mark on Juneau."

And this time, there will be a sprinkler system, just in case.

• Contact reporter Jeremy Hsieh at 523-2258 or e-mail jeremy.hsieh@juneauempire.com.