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Members of burned Texas church vow to carry on

Jan. 2, 2006	 News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*
Nashville {06001}

NOTE: NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org

By Steve Smith

CROSS PLAINS, Texas (UMNS) - As 40-mile-an-hour winds whipped soot and
ashes into her eyes and over her clothes, Melanie Long recalled memories
of the beloved sanctuary of First United Methodist Church - now nothing
but a charred hull. She nearly cried.

"I married my husband in that sanctuary 12 years ago," Long said. "Every
Sunday, I would see me going down the center aisle and my husband
waiting for me. I was never a member of a church until my husband and I
got married, so this is my first church home.

"When I look at it now, I see nothing but devastation, but I know we're
going to rebuild and be stronger than we've ever been before."

Long and 100 other parishioners anticipated kicking off a year of
celebrating the church's 120th anniversary on New Year's Day in the
sanctuary, but their plans literally went up in flames Dec. 27.
"Tornadoes of winds," as one church member put it, fueled by dry cedar
trees and grass, destroyed the sanctuary and half of the buildings in
this central Texas town, 47 miles southeast of Abilene.

Despite the carnage, Long joined 165 other people, including church
members and leaders from the denomination's Central Texas Annual
Conference, in the soot-covered parking lot on New Year's Day to worship
God and receive assurances from the Rev. James Senkel, the church's
pastor, that God is present even in the midst of firestorms.

During Senkel's sermon, one of the remaining church walls crashed to the
ground. Several parishioners shuddered during the closing prayer when a
fire engine, its sirens blaring, roared down the highway, presumably to
another wildfire.

In this town of barely 1,000, known for its smoked deer meat and as the
birthplace of writer Robert Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian,
wildfires destroyed 116 homes and killed two elderly women. More than
7,500 acres were scorched in Callahan County, where Cross Plains is
located, as wildfires swept through central Texas and into Oklahoma,
destroying 50,000 acres.

As First Church members worshiped outside their burned sanctuary, at
least 20 more grass fires sprang up on the hot and windy Sunday across
central and northern Texas. Officials also were evacuating parts of
Oklahoma City neighborhoods that were ablaze, and additional fires were
reported in New Mexico.

'Utter devastation'

Fire officials said the fires around Cross Plains were likely caused by
somebody tossing a cigarette butt out a vehicle window. First Church
members described the church, surrounding area and nearly all the town
as a "war zone."

Four church members' homes were destroyed in the fire, as well as the
parsonage. Senkel was forced to commute 85 miles one-way from Graham,
Texas, where he owns a house.

Although no parishioners died or were injured, the church was a total
loss - except for the baby Jesus in the sanctuary's Nativity scene. Long
also salvaged the cross from the sanctuary and propped it up in the
parking lot beside a burned Communion chalice.

Church members fought back tears as they remembered baptisms, weddings
and funerals in the building.

"Sheer, utter devastation are the only words I can think of," said the
Rev. Bill Reed, a retired pastor who led First Church from 1978 to 1983.
He christened the sanctuary when it was built in the early 1980s, after
the congregation moved from a downtown location. "I think of all the
couples I married, all the children I baptized, the good times, the bad
times, all the funerals.

"I know the church members loved this building, but they're going to
love the new building. When we moved from downtown, people loved that
old building and hated to leave, but they grew to love this building."

The church building was insured. Despite the disaster, parishioners plan
to spend 2006 celebrating First Church's 120th anniversary, culminating
with a special service Oct. 1 with Bishop Ben Chamness, who leads the
annual conference.

Parishioner Lindy Cooper said congregants will worship at First
Presbyterian Church, about five blocks away, until their new sanctuary
is built.

Only a few Presbyterians are left at the church, "and they need our help
with their building, too," she said. "Imagine what they'll think when a
bunch of Methodists suddenly show up."

Donations pour in

Meanwhile, the Rev. Shelly Brooks, superintendent of the conference's
Brownwood District, which includes Cross Plains, said the United
Methodist Committee on Relief sent $10,000 recently to disaster
coordinators to help with relief efforts in the community and more help
is expected for Texas and Oklahoma.

"Our annual conference disaster relief coordinators will work very
closely with local and regional disaster relief leaders, as well as
UMCOR representatives, to develop a specific plan and budget for
additional funds that will be used to help the community recover,"
Brooks said.

Donations for community relief can be made out to UMCOR, designated for
Advance #901670, "Domestic Disaster - Cross Plains," and placed in
church offering plates or sent directly to UMCOR at P.O. Box 9068, New
York, NY 10087-9068. Credit-card contributions can be made by calling
(800) 554-8583.

Brooks added that United Methodist churches throughout central Texas and
from as far away as New York are responding with monetary donations and
equipment.

Senkel said God will use the disaster for a greater good. Though First
Church, with its 100 members, is the largest congregation he's ever led,
he noted that he "spread the Gospel" to millions of people around the
world who saw him interviewed on CNN about the fire.

"Burning down this whole town is worth it if one person who heard me
spends an eternity in heaven rather than in hell," Senkel said.

# # #
*Smith is a freelance writer based in Dallas.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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