By Robert Marus
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (ABP) -- American
Baptist Churches USA officials have sent aid in the aftermath of a
gas blast that leveled the nearly century-old sanctuary of one of
their churches.
First Baptist Church of Oconomowoc,
Wis., was destroyed in the April 2 explosion. Local authorities have
blamed the gas-line breach that caused it on equipment being used to
place new city sewer lines in the area. Nobody was in the church at
the time, but the incident injured seven people, including
firefighters and a utility worker.
American Baptist National Ministries
released $5,000 in funds for the congregation. The sanctuary was
fully insured, so the money will be distributed to two families who
rented homes that the church owned. Both houses, adjacent to the
sanctuary, were destroyed in the blast and subsequent fire.
The 35-member church met in the local
public library on April 6 and vowed to rebuild. Arlo Reichter,
executive minister for American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin, said
the congregation is “a small but loyal group of folks,” according to
American Baptist News Service.
Sam Brink, a staff member with ABC of
Wisconsin, had been serving as the church’s interim pastor. He said
it “will go on; it is more than a building.”
The sanctuary, built in 1912, was a
landmark in the lakeside community, located about 30 miles west of
Milwaukee. The explosion left standing only the bell tower of the
red-brick Gothic building. The bell -- used for generations to
signal the beginning of worship services -- fell into the building’s
basement.
According to the Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel, members hope to reclaim the bell and other
fragments -- such as bricks and remnants of the stained-glass
windows -- for use in a new facility.
“We hope the bell is intact. It may
be like the Liberty Bell with a big crack in it. We may have to get
out the duct tape,” longtime church member Irwin Hoeft jokingly told
the newspaper.
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