OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (ABP) — American Baptist Churches USA officials have sent aid in the aftermath of a gas blast that leveled the nearly century-old sanctuary of one of their churches.
First Baptist Church of Oconomowoc, Wis., was destroyed in the April 2 explosion. Local authorities have blamed the gas-line breach that caused it on equipment being used to place new city sewer lines in the area. Nobody was in the church at the time, but the incident injured seven people, including firefighters and a utility worker.
American Baptist National Ministries released $5,000 in funds for the congregation. The sanctuary was fully insured, so the money will be distributed to two families who rented homes that the church owned. Both houses, adjacent to the sanctuary, were destroyed in the blast and subsequent fire.
The 35-member church met in the local public library on April 6 and vowed to rebuild. Arlo Reichter, executive minister for American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin, said the congregation is “a small but loyal group of folks,” according to American Baptist News Service.
Sam Brink, a staff member with ABC of Wisconsin, had been serving as the church's interim pastor. He said it “will go on; it is more than a building.”
The sanctuary, built in 1912, was a landmark in the lakeside community, located about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. The explosion left standing only the bell tower of the red-brick Gothic building. The bell — used for generations to signal the beginning of worship services — fell into the building's basement.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, members hope to reclaim the bell and other fragments — such as bricks and remnants of the stained-glass windows — for use in a new facility.
“We hope the bell is intact. It may be like the Liberty Bell with a big crack in it. We may have to get out the duct tape,” longtime church member Irwin Hoeft jokingly told the newspaper.
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