Oak Grove UMC is a small church in Page County, close to the town of Shenandoah. Oak Grove UMC burned to the ground several years ago. It happened at night and by the time the Fire Departments got to the church, it was fully engulfed. I was at a Cabinet Meeting in Richmond and by the time I got to the church only a few firefighters were left to put out hot spots.
The Fire Marshal was there when I arrived and I asked what was the cause. His face fell as he told me it was clearly arson. They could identify about a half dozen spots the fire was started from. The saddest part was that they could never find out who did it or why they did it. Surrounding the church that night were members who had gone to Oak Grove UMC all their life. They remembered how their parents had gone there and how they had been brought as babies. To lose your church is to lose part of who you are!
The pastor at Oak Grove was Ellen Martin. Ellen loved these people and her heart was broken. She began to pull them together and comfort them. The first question was – Where will we worship and it wasn’t long before that was resolved. Oak Grove was part of a two-point Charge. The other church was very close, and they immediately extended the invitation to worship at their church. Within hours Grove Hill UMC had opened up their doors to Oak Grove UMC.
The re-building process took a long time. The insurance company had to decide what the church would receive. The church had to decide what they wanted to build and then contractors had to be contacted and prices had to be obtained. As in any situation like this there are those who have an opinion about everything and those who never speak their opinions until after everyone leaves. The pastor was amazing during this process. She tried to hold everyone together. The two churches worshipped at different times and amazingly did some things together. When the building was finally finished it was a day of celebration. All the hurts and fears were united into a day of celebrating their new church.
The church was a dream come true. Many of the anxieties that had been present all the way through construction disappeared. The members of Oak Grove UMC now had a building that was disability-accessible. It had new heating and cooling systems that made the building comfortable. They had a kitchen and Fellowship Hall that everyone could get to. Before there were steps everywhere and no way to get a wheel chair to a bathroom. Other churches had given money, pianos and everything the church needed to start back. There were groups all over the Conference who had helped raise money and donate furniture.
Pastor Ellen is still at Oak Grove and Grove Hill loving both churches to Jesus. What seemed so tragic on the day of the fire now seems like a terrible memory. What seemed like total loss turned to rejoicing! What was once a building filled with memories is now a building filled with new memories and no stairs where everyone can worship. The dark cloud of that day has turned to bright sunshine. With God all things are possible.