When I received the call last night from Pastor Charlie informing me that our church property was on fire, I went into disbelief. My drive to the church property felt like it was miles and miles (I live in Magna. To get to the property from where I am, it would be a good 12-15 minutes. That night it felt like hours.) Why would anyone do this; especially to a church property? I don’t understand at all why it would cross anyone’s mind to vandalize another person’s property. As my husband and I arrived at the scene, we were not allowed to go near the building until the firefighters gave the clearing. I stood there shocked, watching what would have been a temporary place to worship go up in flames.
My mind wanders off to the year 2004 when we first purchased this property; how much excitement we had knowing that one day, some day, we would have a place of our own call a church. A place where our kids would go to learn about God, praise and worship Him; Our Lord and Savior. That summer, the members would meet every weekend to start cleaning and clearing out the debris, sage bushes, overgrown weed, dead trees, you name it! I remember walking in with my blue overall’s on with my husband by my side thinking “What a mess! How are we ever going to get this cleared and cleaned up? We’ll never going to do it”. Oh what little faith I had. What I saw was like trying to move a mountain. Little did I know, and what I should have known all along, is that God is always on our side. And He was. The strength and energy that He alone gave to the congregation to meet every day those first couple months was amazing. We cleared and cleaned up so much trash. The property was becoming more and more like our church home to us. What funds we had saved up went into the remodeling of the home/building. We had the outside shell of the home which was in good condition and the inside needed plenty of work. But labor isn’t something that we’re scared of. Hard work pays off and the members that were out there hours on end showed it. We were able to remodel what we could and when the funds ran out, we organized fundraisers and took donations to replenish our “Build-His-Church” building fund.
It’s been about 3 ½ years now since we first purchased the land and although we don’t have all the funds to complete our church building, I know that we will have a church facility to worship in some day because of the determination that our members have.
“Church” is defined as:
1: a building for public and especially Christian worship
2: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body
3: often capitalized; a body or organization of religious believers as:
- a: the whole body of Christians
- b: denomination
- c: congregation
4: a public divine worship.
I believe that we can be a church anywhere, anytime whether it’s in an actual church facility building, a public place, the living room in my home, wherever. As long as we have Christ in us and as long as we can come together to have fellowship and praise Him. That is my church. My heart is my church building for Christ alone. I want to take this time to thank all who have shown their support. It is a blessing to know that we can come together as a community and support each other. God bless each and every one of you.
~ Dee So, Secretary of CCRC
Initially, when I got news from Kristen, it was surreal. The first thought was our church burnt down? Someone must be kidding right? It's just unheard of. However, after passing the site, and going through news articles and comments, it begins to set in. The future home of our church, gone. The dreams of many shattered; destroyed.
In reality, it's just a setback; a hindrance that we will indeed overcome. There are many who don't believe in us. Conversely, there are many who feel for us and offer their hand. To this I am very grateful. Though, for those who say this is not a church or look what their god let happen, they have their right to their opinion. Who are we to pass judgment on that? But Paul said the Church is not defined as an elaborate building. Rather, it is a body of people gathered to praise God. A composition of many parts functioning as a single unit.
Also, as far as compensation is concerned. It's a very debatable topic. Part of me says they should pay for what was lost. But what did we really lose? An ancient building older than grade school cafeteria food? Buildings can be rebuilt, the foundation of the Lord can't. Some say we should cut our losses and sell our "undeveloped land." If it was numbers game, it would've been done eighteen months ago. However, because of the efforts of others infused into the project, placing the declining dollar in place of their work tarnishes their value.
It should also be mentioned that again this is not a total loss. No longer do we have to pour our tithes into a dilapidating house. This should not be seen as an omen. Instead, it should be seen as a calling to revitalize the congregation and continue our mission. We've been stagnant for nearly three years. It wasn't until now that the fact has come into perspective. Some don't feel we should be here. Wow, a Bible forshadowment fulfilled. Our parents overcame the odds twenty years ago. Who's to say we can't do it again?
~ Harry Mornh
As a Christian, I've always been taught to love those who hurt you, to make an allowance for every wrongdoing and simply to just try to understand. This incident doesn't change that.
~ Bunna Veth
