Weddings to return to Taylor's beloved West Mound Church following devastating fire

TAYLOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - If there was one thing people desired to see in the Taylor's burned-out West Mound Church, it was weddings.

The wish usually came with people reminiscing about eternal unions and wedding ceremonies taking place inside the community fixture. That includes Frances Dittmar, who got married inside the church years ago.

Her memory of the special day is part of why seeing the church scarred by flames brought her to tears.

"I was devastated," Dittmar said. "The church has always meant so much."

There were no sad tears to be shed over the weekend in Taylor, however, as Dittmar and others were on site to see the unveiling of the church. It was restored after years of crowdfunding and construction.

"I just couldn’t see having it go," she said.

"I was on city council but I can tell you I was driving on Hardee Road and actually witnessed it," said Taylor Mayor Tim Woolley. "It broke into flames on the corner here. It was horrifying."

The fire happened in November 2020. The Parks and Recreation Department director recalls an unfortunate accident taking place that led to the church suffering major damage from both the fire and water.

But fast-forward to August 2023 and a new day had dawned for the building.

"I’m very excited that we’re here today," said Woolley.

Thanks to money from insurance and the community, the church got a major facelift. Some even consider its return to glory a miracle.

"It was a great partnership by so many different departments in the city as well as the historical commission cause luckily they had pictures of all the windows that were broken out," said the mayor.

"So roughly a million dollar investment has been put in here from the pews to the floor to the roof," said parks director Guido Ulin.

Officials hope that weddings will resume at the church in September.