clipped from: www.columbusdispatch.com   
<p>Tim Kemper surveys some of the damaged interior, below the stained glass from 1896, at the Unitarian Universalist church in Woodstock. Kemper is the second generation in his family working to restore the church, built before the Civil War in the village in Champaign County.</p>

Town aims to save its historic church

WOODSTOCK, Ohio -- Tim Kemper's eyes well up and his voice gets a little softer when he talks about continuing his father's mission to save this town's old church.

The Unitarian Universalist church, a landmark in this small community steeped in Civil War history, is in ragged disrepair. Debris loosened by a leaky roof litters the floor, and wall plaster is crumbling.


But Kemper and the Woodstock community are determined to change that.


"Somebody has to do it," Kemper said as light from the distinct stained-glass windows -- full of Civil War imagery -- hits his face. "I'm not in it for the glory."


He's not alone.


Woodstock, about 40 miles northwest of Columbus in Champaign County, has 316 residents. As Kemper puts it, the church is "something we can hang our hats on." It's been a part of the community since 1844 and continues to host a small Christian congregation with less than 30 members