MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Milwaukee is moving forward with its restoration.

The city's oldest Lutheran church was heavily damaged by a 4-alarm fire in May of last year.

On Thursday, crews used a crane to remove massive charred wooden trusses.

Eventually, the entire roof will be made of steel. 

They want to preserve as much as possible of the old church. 

"So the beams that are gonna be removed today from the roof area are similar to what we see behind me, those were beams that were on two of the steeples. If you look st them closely you can see how it's just charred around the outside and the solid wood remains because it's so dense. It was virgin wood from the north of Wisconsin," said Christine Behnke, Director of Parish Education. 

Church leaders estimate the restoration could take anywhere from three to five years.