You don't fool lightly with the steeple of one of the most historic churches in Lancaster County.

But the overseers of Lititz Moravian Church have grown weary of having the 89-foot wooden steeple painted every six years or so.

And once, in 1956, painters burning off old paint accidentally set the steeple on fire.

Technological changes in aluminum siding now make it possible to coat the steeple and bell tower without obscuring its ornate embellishments.

So that's what's being done — with the blessings of Lititz Borough and local historical officials.

In about two weeks, a yearlong refurbishment of the steeple and the adjacent Christian Education Building will be complete with the repositioning of a newly gold-leafed ball and weather vane on the steeple.

"The steeple will look just like it did before," said church sexton John Deen. "You can't tell the difference. They can accentuate all the bends and curves and ornate decorations as before."

Two or three steeplejacks from contractor C.J. Diirner & Sons of Lititz have been putting in long hours dangling from the steeple.

"Those guys got a lot of courage," Deen said. "I get a nosebleed on a ladder."

Chuck Diirner, owner of the company and one of the steeplejacks, said he's been scaling steeples since he was 13.

Of course, the contractors are working their way out of a job. As Deen figures it, no one will have to be hired to perform precarious repairs on the steeple for at least 20 to 30 years.

Moravian Church, which sits on Church Square in the heart of Lititz, was built in 1787 but has been rebuilt several times.

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