BUFFALO, N.Y. — Wonder Church in Buffalo celebrated its first Christmas Eve in its one-of-a-kind location -- inside a grain silo from the early 1900s.
A building with a dozen of these grain silos that are several stories high, and many of which still with the hoppers attached, was perfect for an industrial complex 100 years ago.
However, now, its use has been a bit altered.
“If the early pioneers of Buffalo could imagine it to be this, why couldn’t we take what they have imagined and re-imagine it for the future,” said Director of Hope Rising Together Kate Vacanti.
Every Sunday, the over 110-year-old Kellogg Silos are filled with the sounds of church.
“We thought it was exciting to be part of restoring Buffalo’s history,” Kate said.
“We love creating, we love restoring things,” Kate’s husband Joe said.
Joe and Kate bought the building to house the Hope Rising Together foundation they started in 2010 to help bring food, clean water, and education to families in Sierra Leone.
Monday thru Saturday, the building is where they are packing up meals to send to West Africa.
But every Sunday, like this Christmas Eve, they give their space to Wonder Church, which Joe is the lead pastor of.
“We were very excited, but also very overwhelmed to raise the amount of money we needed to raise,” Joe said. “In fact, our house is up for collateral, so that’s the kind of steps of faith we take.”
This process to restore the building to what it is now was certainly not cheap.
Kate said that they had to raise over $3 million.
“At the time, our biggest donation had [only] been like $20,000… even I was like this is actually ridiculous.”
With a lot of donations and prayers from parishioners, this space has a new life.
“We prayed for this spot for a while,” said Michael Threat, who has gone to church since it opened. “It’s been very endearing that he would even think about setting up right here.”
It’s no longer an empty silo, but a place to serve global communities and join together every Sunday.
“I believe God, looking at us under fresh eyes and seeing our potential we can really become anything,” Kate said.
