BIDDEFORD — Fourteen years ago, fire reduced the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco to a pile of rubble.

On Saturday, about two dozen of the 480-member congregation celebrated the 10th anniversary of the new church at the intersection of Beach and Main streets, which was erected in the same spot as the former building, which had been constructed in the mid-1800s.

The fire started on Aug. 30, 2000. The church was undergoing renovations when a worker lit a cigarette too close to paint fumes in the base of the steeple.

“I had just come home from a meeting at City Hall when I got the call,” said former Saco Mayor and congregation member Bill Johnson.

He drove to the scene of the fire.

“The heat was so high (that) the vinyl siding of Dennett, Craig & Pate Funeral Home next door started to melt,” said Johnson.

Fire departments from Saco and several nearby communities were called to put out the blaze.

In the end, little was left among the piles of burnt wood. Some of the items that were found included bell casings, a cracked Paul Revere bell, the baptismal font that was broken into several pieces, and the chancel cross and candlesticks that were warped by the heat.

Though saddened by the loss of their building, the congregation was committed to rebuilding. The church had already seen a long history, as it was founded in 1762, and the 2000 fire was not the first setback.

Mary Johnson, the former moderator of the church and wife of Bill Johnson, noted that the current church is actually the second church building to be constructed at the same spot. She said the former building, constructed in the early 1800s, was also destroyed in a fire in 1850.

After the 2000 fire, she said there was discussion on whether to rebuild in the same location. The decision was almost unanimous to stay where they were in the city center, she said.

It took four years to rebuild the church, and during the interim, the congregation held services at the Garland Auditorium at Thornton Academy. After the building’s completion, on Dec. 4, 2004, the congregation held a procession marching from the school to the new church.

Ten years later, the congregation is celebrating the anniversary of their church, and Saturday’s Food for the Sole open mic and poetry event was the kickoff celebration.

After the open mic, those gathered exited the church and held a candlelight vigil outside. The vigil was similar to one that took place after the fire had destroyed the former church building. Most of those who attended on Saturday said they also participated in the vigil 14 years ago.

The vigil was followed by a five-minute video, created by Dr. Ronald Bissell, which described some of the history of the church, the fire and the creation of the current church.

Other events to mark the 10th anniversary in the church will take place over the next several months.

The Rev. Dr. Doug Nielsen, who came to lead the congregation when it was still worshipping at the Thornton Academy auditorium, said the existing church is “a fabulous tool for ministry.”

He said the church does a lot for the community and for those in need, noting that some of the proceeds from Saturday’s event would be used to buy shoes for area homeless people.

The anniversary of the creation of the church is a time to be reflective of the past, said Nielsen, and also a time to look ahead.

“It’s no longer sufficient to be the church on fire,” he said. “I’d rather be known for the church with the people who are on fire.”

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.