CITY OF NEWBURGH — St. George’s Episcopal Church was the first built in the City of Newburgh and its early leaders founded St. Luke’s Hospital and the cemetery where many of the city’s notable residents are buried.

Its women’s group used to teach immigrant girls from Ireland how to sew to support themselves, and for decades St. George’s has distributed food to the needy. Since 2012, the church has run a program called “Girl Power” that was formed to empower young girls in the city.

“It’s been a presence in the community that has stabilized and enriched the lives of people in Newburgh,” said the Rev. Dustin Trowbridge. “But having been here for that long there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in the building that is the spiritual home for those people.”

That building, a nearly 200-year-old main church built in 1819, is literally cracking from faults in its foundation. Choir members sometimes dodge falling plaster shaken loose by leaking water from St. George’s iconic bell tower. And the roof undulates due to defects in its truss system.

So the church is launching a capital campaign and seeking up to $500,000 in state funding to undertake significant bell tower, roof and foundation repairs. Those funds would be pooled with more than $100,000 saved specifically for replacing the church’s roof.

“We’re not going to just keep kicking the can down the road, because some of these things are safety concerns,” Trowbridge said. “It doesn’t matter if you have a beautiful paint job. If the foundation is not sound, then you’re in trouble.”

Inside St. George’s nave, one wall holds a framed copy of the church’s original 1770 charter from King George III of England. Two original Tiffany creations are counted among the church’s stained-glass windows.

But signs of age are also visible.

Trowbridge shows the crack in a wall dividing pews, and points to a section of ceiling molding that is also cracking. Both are signs of a building shifting as its foundation fails.

Above the altar, peeling plaster is visible, and in the basement, concrete footings show fractures. Outside the church, a section of the roofline has a noticeable dip.

“They are substantial,” Trowbridge said of the needed repairs.

Last month the City Council gave its support to St. George’s application for funding from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Any state funding would be combined with about $120,000 in savings and money raised during the capital campaign.

Trowbridge says the most urgent repairs will begin even without state funding.

“We are people of great faith, so faith in getting the work done is what we do,” he said.

lsparks@th-record.com