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Fire Damage to Foley Church Proves More Extensive
FOLEY, MN (May 10, 2001) - Fire damage to the Maywood Covenant Church is more
extensive than originally thought, raising the possibility that the church may be beyond repair, according to Pastor Jeff Loewen. The church caught fire on April 19 after lightening struck a telephone line leading into the pastor's office.
"The church office and pastor's study was completely destroyed and there is smoke and water damage throughout the whole building," Loewen said. Contractors have provided conflicting opinions on whether or not the building can be salvaged. "There was a lot more extensive damage than they originally thought," the pastor said.
A five-member work crew from Covenant Mission Connection spent May 3, 4 and 7 working at the Maywood church. Group members Al Adamson and Roy Olson came from Bethlehem Covenant in Minneapolis, and Marvin Bjorlin, Lowell Swenson and Dick Gosen came from Excelsior (Minnesota) Covenant Church. The group built a simple, garage-like building that will serve as a temporary office from the church (see accompanying photo).
Prior to the fire, the church had been doing some repair work, including new carpet and painting in the basement, in preparation for an 100th anniversary celebration this fall. "We are looking into the possibility of postponing that for a year," Loewen said. "A final decision has not been made, but the general consensus is that we will do that."
One item that survived the fire was the church record of marriages, weddings and baptisms dating back to the 1930s. The book was in the church office and was buried in the rubble when the office floor collapsed. "It was just the driest, crispiest old book in there," Loewen said. "When the floor of the office collapsed, this book fell to the bottom of the pile and was not damaged. It was one of the two to three books out of 300-400 books in the office that was recoverable. It was in perfect condition with no singe marks."
All of the church's confirmation class photos survived. The photos had been wrapped in plastic and put into storage. Though the storeroom suffered smoke damage, the photos were unharmed. "The church's historical records are pretty much intact, which is a blessing," said Loewen.
Since the fire happened just before the conference annual meeting, Loewen was able to update other Covenanters in the conference about the church fire. Several churches have donated funds to help with repairs and cleanup, while others have offered other forms of support. "It was
nice to not feel alone in this, to be a part of the larger Covenant family," said Loewen. "The church really appreciated this."
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