wfn.org | Students visit bombed church

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (2989 notes).

Note 2986 by UMNS on June 3, 1996 at 16:39 Eastern (3859 characters).

SEARCH: students, forum, prayers, building, First United

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CONTACT: Linda Green                              272(10-71){2986}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              June 3, 1996

EDITORS NOTE: The following article may be used as a sidebar to
UMNS story # 271 {2985}

Forum participants allowed inside 
bombed First United Methodist Church

by Kathy Gilbert*

     OKLAHOMA CITY (UMNS) -- The late afternoon sun streaked down
from the broken skylights and touched 50 pairs of hands held in a
circle as students from the "1996 Student Forum, Plus!" bowed
their heads and prayed for healing in the damaged First United
Methodist Church, here.
     The  Rev. Todd Scoggins, associate pastor of the church, sat
quietly on the green-carpeted floor where the altar once stood as
students sat on the dusty wooden floor and listened to the story
of the day a bomb destroyed the Murrah Federal Building across the
street from the church and 168 people lost their lives.
     All the windows were blown out of the church, but the
building still stands, though structurally-damaged, and will have
to be repaired. The beauty of the church still shines through the
dark wood carvings surrounding the sanctuary.
     Scoggins told the students they were the first group that had
been allowed to sit inside the building since the April 1995
bombing.
     Before entering the church, the students walked around the
fence that surrounds the bomb site. The chain-link fence is filled
with pictures, teddy bears, poems, letters and prayers -- gifts to
those who died in the tragedy.
     "Be prepared, you will meet God on that fence," Scoggins told
the group before they left to visit the site. Students joined
other visitors in silence as each person took time to read, cry
and remember.
     The trip to First Church was one of seven community outreach
options students had in Oklahoma City during the conference. They
also visited an Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference church; a
Habitat for Humanity project; a redemptive ministry; and a Shalom
initiative.
     On the parking lot of First church is a small open chapel
called the "Heartland Chapel." Built by United Methodist, Islamic
and Jewish congregations, it is a place of refuge for the families
of victims and all visitors to the bombing site. The Woodcarvers
of Oklahoma built the wooden pews and carved scriptures that line
the chapel's ceiling.
     "All these different religions came together to build this
memorial, Scoggins said with tears streaming down his face. "It is
a testimony to what God can do in the midst of a tragedy. We are
still healing today."    
     The small granite altar is built from stone recovered from
the Murrah Building. The front of the altar is filled with stuffed
animals, prayers, poems and other things left by those who come to
pray.
     First Church was built on this site in 1889, and there are
plans to try and restore the building. A new sanctuary will be
built on the parking lot beside the old church building beginning
next month. The Heartland Chapel will be moved to the front corner
of the new building because it has come to mean so much to this
community, Scoggins said.
     Fluttering in the wind is a sign on the church that seems to
sum up the feelings of people on Oklahoma City and the world, "Our
God reigns, We Will Remain."
                              #  #  #

     * Gilbert is a staff person in the Office of Interpretation,
General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.  

EDITORS NOTE: Photo information to follow.

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