Congregation worships near fire-gutted church

By admin • Jul 20th, 2010 • Category: Faith Report

NASHVILLE, Ind. (AP) _ Parishioners at an Indiana church that investigators say was destroyed by an arson fire have held services next to its charred ruins.

Smoke lingered in the breeze Sunday as 18-year-old Amber Coop and the Grandview Apostolic Church’s 45 other parishioners gave thanks for blessings they said no fire could destroy.

Coop said the church is much more just a building — it’s the congregation.

She joined the church five months ago and was baptized there July 11, three days before the fire. Last Wednesday’s fire gutted the white, wood-frame church and caused its roof and steeple to collapse, leaving only some of the exterior walls standing.

The congregation hopes to rebuild the church, which was formed in 1892.

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