WESTBOROUGH – A former office building at 85 E. Main St. is now part of the Mission of Grace Church.
Based in Gardner, the church is opening another site now that its site plans have been approved by the Planning Board. The church will add about 37 feet of new sidewalk that will connect the front stoop of the building to the existing sidewalk. There will also be a new sign, pathway and sign lights, as well as a cross on the front façade of the building.
Church officials said that services will take place twice a week – Sundays at 4 p.m., and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. via Zoom – with room for up to 100 congregants.
“Two of our families are from neighboring towns and had lived in the boroughs for years. I had come to a similar conviction that this was the place for us, a place where we could be the most helpful to serve others,” said Pastor David Bodanza. “A couple from Westborough I had known for a long time were very encouraging and helped us to understand the town’s history, its strategic access and its growing population and needs. We just knew we were on the right track.”
Church officials had searched out sites in Marlborough and Southborough, but “nothing quite fit,” Bodanza said.
“Finally, the realtor we were working with said, ‘I’ve got the place for you. It’s brand new, and it even looks like a church’,” he said.
This was the site at 85 E. Main St., which has stood empty since it was built.
“We could not believe how perfect it was,” said Bodanza.
The church signed a long-term lease and began the permitting process last fall.
“The town has been wonderful to us,” he said. “So far, we have worked with the building and planning department, the Design Review Board, Select Board and Economic Development Department. Everyone has been so helpful and showed us a clear pathway for permitting and an understandable process.”
The church’s sermons, teachings and music may be found at https://www.youtube.com/c/MissionofGraceChurch.
More information about the church may be found at www.missionofgracechurch.org.
