wfn.org | Bomb-damaged Church Rebuilds

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (580
notes).

Note 574 by UMNS on Jan. 29, 1998 at 16:53 Eastern (2040 characters).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONTACT: Linda Green				47(10-21-71B)574 
	    Nashville, Tenn. (615)742-5470	 Jan. 29, 1998 
 
 
Oklahoma City church to dedicate new 
sanctuary on third anniversary of bombing 
 
 
by United Methodist News Service 
 
	Exactly three years after the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma
City the congregation of First United Methodist Church, will formally return
to its new home across the street. 
	A new $3.75 million sanctuary will be dedicated Sunday, April 19, to replace
the historic building severely damaged by the blast.  After the bombing, the
church's north lobby was used for a temporary morgue and the parking lot
became a tent city. 
	The new sanctuary was constructed on the former parking lot. The old
building, constructed in 1904, will be renovated and a new Christian education
and office complex will be added.  The second phase of the project – costing
$4.4 million --  is scheduled to be completed by January 1999. 
	Since the 1995 bombing, worship services, Sunday school and most other
activities have been held at Trinity Baptist Church, four miles away. The
church office was relocated to a downtown office building. 
	"Easter Sunday 1995 was the last service in our old sanctuary," explains the
Rev. Nick Harris, pastor. "We want our first Sunday in our new sanctuary to be
on Easter Sunday April 12, 1998." 
The dedication is being planned as "a sign that goodness always triumphs over
evil," he said. "What man does to man pales to what God is able to do."  
Despite the upheaval, Harris said the church has not only persevered but
grown.  "We lost people, our buildings were condemned, we were relocated, but
in spite of all of this, we have grown in numbers." 
Prior to the Easter Service, the Sunday school classes and other activities
will be moved from Trinity Baptist to a building near the new sanctuary. The
church office will remain at its current location until the completion of the
second phase of the building project. 
 
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