wfn.org | Unquenched fire destroys Indiana church

[PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org]

Note #6320 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

21-December-2000
00465

Unquenched fire destroys Indiana church

Pastor says "total loss" may help small congregation make a fresh start

by John Filiatreau

	A fire of unknown origin started in First Presbyterian Church in Paoli, IN,
about noon last Monday (Dec. 18). By 2:30, local volunteer firemen thought
they had it under control -- but they warned the pastor, the Rev. Stan
Fedyszyn, that buildings as old as First Church (dedicated in 1921), often
have "nooks and crannies, false walls, false ceilings and who knows what
else" where remnants of fire might still be smoldering.

	New flames broke through the peak of the church's roof about 3 p.m.
Presently all the stained-glass windows blew out. About 3:30, the roof fell
in.

	Fedyszyn, a 60-year-old second-career minister in his first pastorate, said
Thursday that his sanctuary was "about as total a loss as there is."

	The building, one block off the town square, was insured, but Fedyszyn
says, "After something like this happens, you find out how under-insured you
were."

	First Presbyterian celebrated its 175th anniversary earlier this year.

	Lost in the fire were the few items, including a pulpit, that remained from
First Church's original building on Gospel Street.

	Other churches in Paoli, a small southern Indiana town about 40 miles
northwest of Louisville that Fedyszyn said is in "a very, very poor county
with very high unemployment," were quick to respond with messages of
sympathy and offers of help.

	Several pastors invited Fedyszyn and First Presbyterian's 70-member
congregation to use their facilities for worship services while they're out
of a home. Fedyszyn said his congregation will be worshiping at the local
Roman Catholic Church, Christ the King, for the next several months.

	A church in nearby Mitchell, IN, replaced the hymnals and Bibles lost in
the fire, passing along books it was given eight or 10 years ago after its
building was torched by an arsonist.

	Fedyszyn, the church's pastor since 1996, said he has had "various offers
of various things" from churches as far away as Evansville, in western
Indiana.

	Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is providing $10,000 from the One
Great Hour of Sharing offering to help sustain First Presbyterian's
ministry.

	Officials don't know yet how the First Presbyterian fire got started.

	At one point during the fire, Fedyszyn remembered that one room in the
church building contained Christmas presents the congregation had
accumulated for needy families in the community. He asked the fire chief if
he (Fedyszyn) could enter the burning building to get them. The chief said
no -- but sent a firefighter inside to try to save them. The gifts were
undamaged, and they have since been distributed, a fact that Fedyszyn and
his congregation found inordinately comforting, at a time when they needed
comfort.

	Fedyszyn said members and leaders of his church recently had begun
discussing the congregation's future. "We've been trying to make some major
decisions," he said. "Where do we go from here? What kind of a church do we
want to be? Do we want to be a full-time church? What does it mean to be
Presbyterian?"

	He said the loss of the old building might make it possible for people to
think more creatively and open-mindedly about what their church might become
-- and said he won't be surprised if the disaster produces blessings as well
as sorrows: "I would say that that would be very likely."

	People interested in making financial contributions can send checks payable
to the church to First Presbyterian Church, Courthouse Square, Paoli, IN
47454; or make checks payable to the PC(USA), clearly indicating PDA account
number 9-2000015, and send them to Central Receiving Services, Presbyterian
Center, Section 300, Louisville, KY 40289.

_______________________________________________
pcusaNews mailing list
pcusaNews@pcusa.org

To unsubscribe, go to this web address:
http://pcusa01.pcusa.org/mailman/listinfo/pcusanews