Church fire kindles spirit of community
Fire has only fueled community spirit since flames consumed much of Woodbury Union Church Presbyterian on Thanksgiving eve.
On Sunday parishioners gathered for service at St. Benedict Church, just a couple of blocks away on Beach Avenue in Conimicut. Joining those from Woodbury were members of St. Benedict and St. Kevin Churches and their pastor, Father Robert Marciano, as well as villagers and members of the Conimicut Village Association.
Father Marciano has offered the Woodbury congregation use of St. Benedict and its facilities for as long as it takes to rebuild. He’s handed them the keys as well as invited the Woodbury hand bell choir to join in the St. Kevin Christmas concert.
On Sunday, Father Marciano welcomed the Woodbury congregation, then introduced Mayor Joseph Solomon, who for 18 years represented the area as the Ward 4 councilman. Solomon was thankful that no one was injured in the fire and pledged his support to help Woodbury rebuild.
For Woodbury’s new pastor, T.J. DeMarco, who took on the job about two months ago, the fire is an unexpected challenge.
“It’s going to be a busy time,” he said after Sunday’s service as people filed out of the church to join for coffee and fellowship in the basement hall of the adjacent former St. Benedict School. During the service the same area was used for the church Sunday school run by Cheryl Young, who can’t remember how long she’s run the school.
“I lost track sometime after 50 years,” she said.
Before leaving the church for Sunday school, Pastor DeMarco called the children to sit on the steps to the altar. He passed around the diamond engagement ring he had given his wife for them to see. He told them to look for the brilliance of the stone and its light and than asked if any knew how diamonds are formed. He told them diamonds are created under extreme pressure and, like a diamond, Woodbury will emerge from this fire brighter than ever.
The Rev. Shannon Vance-Ocampo pledged support of the Presbytery of Southern New England that consists of 28 congregations with more than 10,000 members in Connecticut, Rhode Island and portions of Massachusetts.
“Community is the most important thing we have. It was community that came to put out the fire Wednesday night…It is community that we have between congregations and the Presbytery, and it is community that will get you through these early days of lament and grief and then propel and move you forward into rebuilding and renewing your ministry in this place,” she said.
Vance-Ocampo has looked at the church and is hopeful the stained glass window above the altar can be saved. As General Presbyter, she pledged to give Woodbury every resource it needs with assistance from the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, a fund that the Woodbury congregation has contributed toward for decades.
It is premature to know what sort of funding from the assistance fund, insurance claims and donations from a GoFundMe and Facebook page will be available or, for that matter, whether any portions of the church can be saved. As DeMarco observed, those decisions rest with the congregation and what they see in their mission and what they want in a building going forward.
“The spirit of this community is unbelievable – the love and support,” said Woodbury parishioner Jane Tarring. “We’ll get through it and, hopefully, rebuild…we’re still going to be there,” she said.
