St. Luke's launches campaign to warm church for winter

BUFFALO, N.Y. — St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy on Buffalo’s East Side is asking for the community’s help to ensure the church can stay warm this winter.

The nonprofit has launched its “Turn Up the Heat” campaign — an effort to raise $326,000 to replace failing steam heating pipes beneath the church. At last check, the fundraiser had already collected more than $55,000.

Interim Director Dennis Gilhooley says the repair is essential. Last winter, a pipe rupture caused significant floor damage inside the church.

“[My wife] knew something was off — it was actually the smell,” Gilhooley said. “You could smell the steam. She started walking through the church and noticed the floors buckling. Steam was coming up through the floors. It was a disaster. If you could have seen it, it was really sad