REBUILDING

THE STORY OF THE FIRE

On Sunday, December 17, at 8:15 a.m. I went to unlock the church.  As I stepped off the porch of my house I saw smoke coming from the church basement.  The furnace room is the only room in the basement and the door to the furnace room opens to the outside.  I opened the door and saw that the ceiling was in flames.  I called 911 from my home.

Volunteers from the Fayette Township Fire Company responded within minutes.  Fortunately for us the fire station is right next to the church and they quickly pulled a fire truck to the front of the church and put out the fire in the basement.  However, the interior wall of the sanctuary is hollow and the fire went up the wall like a chimney into the attic and bell tower.  It took several hours to completely put out the fire.  Six fire companies responded to the scene:  Fayette Fire and EMS, Delaware Fire Company, Thompsontown Fire and Ambulance Companies, Mifflintown Hose Company, Beaver Springs Fire Company, United Fire Company, and Brooklyn Hose Company.  The Central Juniata EMS also responded.

While some of the fire fighters were busy on the roof fighting the fire in the attic, other fire fighters started removing furniture from the church sanctuary and placing it in the education building.  Church members brought cordless screwdrivers and the fire fighters unscrewed the pews from the floor while people from the church and the community carried the pews over to the Fayette Fire Company's hall.  The fire fighters were even able to remove everything from the office at the front of the church.  Because of the hard work of the fire fighters and the community virtually everything of value was protected from the fire.  In the end, we lost a table, 1 pew, and the furnace.  However, there is considerable structural damage in the furnace room, Sunday School room, attic, and bell tower.  Fire damage extends about 15 feet into the sanctuary along the ceiling and floor.  The quick response of the fire fighters probably saved our church, since there was nearly 1,000 gallons of fuel oil in two tanks located in the furnace room.  Had the fire burned longer the fuel oil might have erupted.
 

We are thankful that no one was in the church when the fire was discovered and no one was hurt as the fire fighters put out the fire.  The Fire Marshal, a representative from the ATF, a fire investigator and an electrical engineer all inspected the fire damage and came to the same conclusion:  The fire was an accidental electrical fire that started in old wiring just behind the breaker box in the furnace room.

As the fire fighters wrapped up their work a member of the community, Doug Shellenberger, made arrangements for us to hold worship at the McAlisterville Community Building.  He also carried hymnals and our advent wreath to the building.  At 11:00 a.m. those who had not returned home gathered together to sing Christmas hymns, pray, and hear the Word of God read and preached.  There was a touch of humor in the service when the family leading the Advent Liturgy couldn't get some of the candles to stay lit.  The theme for the third Sunday of Advent was Joy.  I had intended on preaching from Isaiah chapter 6 where the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God's heavenly throne room and hears the Seraphs singing praises to God.  Though I adapted the content a little, the message remained true even in our difficult circumstances.  If we depend on material things, even a church building and its beautiful Christmas decorations, to bring us joy it will not last.  True lasting joy comes from God who forgives our sins and invites us to live each day in His presence.  During the service the congregation expressed its trust in God's care when they said, "It's just a building.  Nobody was hurt, and that's what's important."

That afternoon Bud Fogelman, owner of Fogelman Roofing, and one of his employees volunteered to come to the church and cover the holes in the church roof where fire fighters entered the attic.  Our Presbytery Executive Brad Bradburn and his wife Marie Buffaloe, who is parish associate of Derry Presbyterian Church, drove up from Harrisburg to visit with me and share the Presbytery's prayers and support.  Later in the week the Moderator of our Presbytery, Carlin Wenger, and James Brown who is pastor of Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg came by to visit.  Rev. Brown presented a check from his Church for $2,000.00 to go toward rebuilding.  Over the week pastors from several churches in the county called to offer the use of their facilities.  People from the community called to offer help or make contributions to the rebuilding fund.  We really appreciate all the support and encouragement we have received.

The good news is that the church is insured and the Insurance Adjuster is eager to see our church restored.  He gave emergency authorization for us to bring in a company, Alex R. Szeles Inc.,  to clean up the smoke damage in the Education Building.  We hope to be able to use the Education Building for worship services sometime in mid January.  Because of the structural damage in the sanctuary building it will be some time before that part of the building is restored.

Trinity Lutheran Church, which is a block west of our church, invited us to use their sanctuary for Sunday worship and to use their office equipment to run bulletins and letters.  For the last three years our two churches have joined together for a Fellowship Meal and Worship Service to celebrate the Agreement on Full Communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)  In the Fall of 2000 our youth groups and children's groups began meeting together.  So it seemed natural to accept their invitation, and they have been very gracious hosts.  They worship from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. and we worship from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.  The Lutherans have always had a fellowship time following their service and so our members come to church early and share the pastries, coffee, and conversation.