| The fire prompted the church to contemplate its future, which it had been doing since as early as 1922. The church had three options before it: 1. Demolish the fire-damaged structure and build an entirely new church • At its present location • At a new location 2. Salvage the fire-damaged structure and rebuild the church 3. Merge with another church Although all of these options had been considered prior to the fire, the fire made that consideration much more urgent. Driving the discussion that church members had following the fire were three key factors: 1. the insurance policy, which would not cover the cost of a new building; 2. the westward movement of the church’s membership, which now lived mostly in West Hartford; and 3. a concrete offer to merge made by the First Baptist Church of West Hartford. |