'Along with our other purposes, we hope that someday this will become a neat place for tourists to visit'

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The length of a football field and several stories tall, Noah’s Ark rises from the potato fields in central New Brunswick, a kilometre or more from the rising waters of the St. John River.

Enlarge Photo

Rev. Nathan Smith stands in front of Noah’s Ark in Florenceville

“We haven’t done any promotions because it is still a work in progress,” Nathan Smith, a minister at the Burnham Road Cathedral, says on a chilly, grey afternoon with storm clouds overhead. “But we get a lot of visitors by word of mouth, and people staying at the local hotel stop by and take pictures.

“People going for a drive to see the sights, this is one of the places people point them to.”

More inspiring than Potato World, and bigger than the sizable spud at the roadside in muddy Maugerville, the ark on Burnham Road is only slightly smaller than the one The Bible says Noah fashioned to save his family and the world’s animals from the Great Flood.

Begun in 1993, the structure is 91 metres long, 11 metres wide and two storeys tall, and serves as the headquarters of Burnham Road Ministries.

Within it, there is a retreat centre, healing rooms, 15 small wireless apartments used by students attending a Bible school, and a reception area called Noah’s Place. Outside, in Noah’s Playground, there are swings and slides and picnic benches.

“Along with our other purposes, we hope that someday this will become a neat place for tourists to visit,” says Nathan Smith, whose grandfather, Marshall, established Burnham Road Ministries 63 years ago, and whose uncle, Paul Smith, serves as the pastor. “We’d like to give back to the community.”

Paul Smith says the idea for the ark was sparked by a vision he received in the late 1980s. He says that even before that, a visiting preacher had once told him he would be known as the “modern Noah.”

“At the time I thought it was a foolish notion,” Paul Smith says. “Now, as things have come together, it all sort of makes sense.”

The pastor says he ended up building the ark around the Bible school, which was established in 1991. It was done entirely with donated supplies and labour and, with a few minor exceptions, is finished. A petting zoo is likely to be added this summer to give more atmosphere.

“But this is more than a tourist attraction,” Nathan Smith says. “Pastor Paul believes God gave him this in a vision and that it has a purpose, some of which has been revealed, but not all of it.”

Earnest and good-humoured, the pastor’s nephew was more than happy to lead a tour of New Brunswsick’s ark. Walking beside the ribs on the inside, the structure looks huge. It is also a little wet in some places, from melting snow.

“We had our own little flood inside the ark,” Nathan Smith says.

In another spot, there are stains from a leak in the ceiling.

“The Bible says that water came down from above as well as from the ground,” Smith says, chuckling.

Stairs lead to a second floor, and after a long walk, Smith is standing on the bow of the ark, beside a giant angel, and in front of a beautiful mural painted by a former church member.

The view is stunning from there: rolling countryside, agricultural fields, and Mars Hill Mountain, only a few kilometres away across the border in Maine.

“This is a beautiful place in summer,’’ he says. “And the colours in fall are very vibrant.”

It is heaven on earth for the clergy and congregants at Burnham Road Ministries.

But it is unlikely to save anyone from the rising waters of the St. John River, or from a deluge lasting 40 days and 40 nights.

“Oh, I don’t think this thing will float,” Nathan Smith says, and then laughs.

“I’ve been underneath it. I don’t think it is going anywhere.”

Français : La fameuse Arche de Noé, à Florenceville, mesure 91 mètres de hauteur et 11 mètres de largeur et abrite les bureaux des Burham Road Ministries. Selon le Pasteur Paul Smith, l’idée de construire l’arche lui est venue d’une vision. Ce dernier espère qu’en plus de servir comme le quartier général pour son ministère religieux, l’arche deviendra une attraction touristique.