Posted on 12/31/2005 4:06:52 PM PST by hispanarepublicana
Faith, strong community help Cross Plains residents withstand loss
CROSS PLAINS (AP) - The Rev. Jim Senkel has spent the past few days at the charred ruins of First United Methodist Church, helping parishioners pull shards of red, green and purple stained glass, soot-covered forks and chipped coffee mugs from the rubble.
Then he has gone across the street where the parsonage once stood, sorting through mounds of ash-coated debris that had been his belongings. The house, where he and his wife moved in June after he became the church's pastor, was filled with new furniture and some Christmas gifts, including his wife's new watch.
Senkel was hit doubly hard when a raging grass fire swept through this rural town Tuesday, destroying more than 90 homes and killing two people. But Senkel, an independent oil operator who has been a minister only three years, says his faith has not wavered because of the community's support and generosity.
"These people here helped me a bunch. We've all cried together," said Senkel, 57, his eyes welling with tears. "Most of the time, I'm not an emotional person. When you see people pull together, it makes me cry, more for happiness."
Most rubble in Cross Plains was no longer smoldering Friday, but new blazes started in Palo Pinto and Lamar counties and along the Hood and Johnson county line, said Traci Weaver, a Texas Forest Service spokeswoman. Those fires were contained Friday afternoon, but officials braced for more this weekend as warm, dry, windy weather was expected, she said.
This week grass fires consumed more than 22,500 acres in Texas and 30,000 acres in Oklahoma, where one man died. Two deaths were reported in Cross Plains, and another in Cooke County, near the Texas-Oklahoma line..
Cross Plains, a working-class town of 1,070 residents about 115 miles west of Fort Worth, was hit the hardest. The fire, which authorities say may have started when someone threw a cigarette out a car window, spread rapidly as swirling flames raced down blocks and jumped across roads.
That night, as Senkel and some members surveyed the smoldering piles and a few partially standing walls of First United Methodist Church, which had been built in the 1980s, they decided to hold Sunday's service in the parking lot.
Later, someone from the town's First United Presbyterian Church gave Senkel keys to the building, saying that church has only a handful of members and no full-time pastor. Senkel plans to hold joint services there with both congregations until the Methodist church is rebuilt.
"This will be good for them and us both," said Senkel, whose church has about 120 active members, including at least four who lost their homes in the fire.
The Methodist church was to start celebrating its 120th anniversary on Sunday, with a larger celebration in May. The church still plans to hold those events, including a revival and visits from previous pastors, Senkel said.
A resident offered his vacant house to Senkel and his wife, and they may move in. The couple kept their home in Graham, but it's about 80 miles northeast of Cross Plains and too far to commute.
Senkel had insurance on his belongings in the parsonage, but not enough. Still, it's not overwhelming for the man who said he felt a calling to be a pastor a few years ago while reading his morning devotional by an oil well.
If that doesn't put a lump in your throat, I don't know what does. Makes me proud to be from this part of the country. I grew up in a place much like Cross Plains, and my first college boyfriend was from there.
West Texas/Big Country PING
Oh my, I drive right through Cross Plains when I go to Lubbock. I hadn't heard about this fire until just now - that is tragic.
The church is gone, yet The Church is still there. Stronger than ever.
Exactly. It's as though the destruction of the church building accomplished overnight in the hearts and souls of the community as well as as an inspiration to others what it might not have accomplished for years and years otherwise.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.