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Historic Muncie church gets a modern makeover

MUNCIE, Ind. (NewsLink)-- The Historic North Church has been renovated after 20 years.

When the North Church was first built in 1893, it was visited by many. After it sat abandoned for around 20 years, Michael Jennings and his family stepped in to fix it.

“COVID graduated me, and I immediately came here and worked on it all of quarantine with my father and brother,” Jennings said.

With the ceiling and other areas of the church collapsed, Jennings knew the process would take time.

“It was a tough process but just like anyone else, we checked all those boxes, prove qualifications. Capacity, limiting our events from mid to small events to just small events without having our name out there,” Jennings said.

But when the people of Muncie heard of the grand opening, the response was immediate.

“Absolutely, 100% positive feedback,” Jennings said.

The positive feedback influenced photographer Geordt Michael Huggins to schedule his first photoshoot there.

“When I saw that there was another event space, I was so excited. I had my first shoot in there which was a maternity session, and it was amazing being in there,” Huggins said.

Even with the challenges during the pandemic, the venue has every precaution to keep everyone safe.

“You can still have a great event with a great turnout and still be able to wear a mask and to be able to socially distance if need be,” Huggins said.

Jennings has been able to preserve aspects of the church to keep its history alive, and he wants people to see the beauty in the church and enjoy the time they spend there during these challenging times.

For comments or concerns regarding this story, contact the author at alchalker@bsu.edu