St. Phillips Episcopal Church Fire in Belen, NM

FGGAM News just received this report: St. Phillips Episcopal Church Fire in Belen, New Mexico

 

 

On Thursday last week the St. Phillips Episcopal Church in Belen lost an out building to a fire.  This building housed the office computers, files, Sunday School room, and food pantry.  Ultimately everything was destroyed and now the hard part of recreating everything starts.  They believe it was arson as a window was broken, and a piece of glass was found with blood on it, probably that of the vandal.

I have started a food drive to help restore their Food Pantry for those in need.  Non-perishable items are needed and will be greatly appreciated.

If you wish to help out you can drop items off at our house, 01 Bonnie St, bring them to the next ladies meeting or call me at 866-4537 and I will pick them up.

 

Thanking you in advance,

 

Your friend and neighbor,

Peggy Winters

866-4537

I just got off the phone with St. Phillip’s parishioner Thomas Driber and he also sent me this post………….

FIRE BRINGS COMMITMENT TO REBUILD

Imagine being settled in bed for the night, when you get a phone call with the voice on the other end frantically telling you that your church is on fire. After bolting into the car and speeding to the church you can hear the sirens, smell the smoke and finally see the flames. While driving you call the Vicar who lives close to the church. She encounters a flat tire while driving in the monsoonal rain the night of Thursday, September 25, 2014. Determined, she continues driving on the flat rear tire, gets to the church and is soon joined with four other parishioners. While thoughts of “Why us?” devastation and frustration, overcame them, sighs of relief arose among the five of them in the downpour watching the flames destroy the trailer that housed the administrative, Sunday School rooms, and Food Pantry for the parish. It was the “trailer” on fire not the Church. The trailer was a complete loss. Mother Diane’s desk sits in a pile of blacken ash melted and bent out of shape, no longer surrounded with walls. The administrative office and Sunday school area is charred, melted and without a roof. Still questions were racing and jumping through their minds similar to the flames jumping and engulfing about the building regarding all of the belongings housed in the trailer; computers, furniture, records, but most of all for the food stored in the Pantry which provided assistance to needy individuals and families.

The Bishop needed to be notified and was called in the early hours of the morning. Bishop Vono and Canon Gutierez both arrived on scene the following morning to assess the situation and give support to Mother Diane and the parishioners gathered to help with chores to be done. The Gas Company needed to be called, as did Century Link, PNM, the insurance company needed to be contacted, food needed to be removed from the refrigerators and freezers in the parish hall.

The sidewalks had to be washed off to avoid tracking soot and ash into the carpets of the church and parish hall. In no time flat, a parishioner was using his power hose (after a clearance from the insurance company) to wash the sidewalks. With a small core of individuals, Mother Diane started delegating duties. These were completed by the time of the Bishop’s arrival. Bishop Vono commended Mother Diane and the parishioners for their expediency in completing the immediate tasks.

One cannot imagine the upheaval a fire can cause and the things that need to be done as the result of it. Thank God, within hours of the incident, calls for help were sent out and the responses are only a manifestation of: “Almighty God is never outdone in generosity”. Generous responses have been coming from throughout the Diocese of the Rio Grande. Local residents have been contributing bags and boxes of food goods so that our Food Pantry Program can continue serving the poor.

As a faith community, we unite with our Vicar, and our Bishop who wrote: “Yes, I also do believe that out of the ashes the Lord will bring forth new life and even more possibilities. There are challenges to face, but I say “bring it on”. THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. Amen! Let us be in prayer!