I’m sure they had fire insurance. The church will probably be restored to a better and more beautiful condition than it was before.
An insurance agent in whom I have vast trust (for good reason) told me that the reason some people and institutions get into trouble following a fire is that the insurance provides for restoration, but then the insured decides to upgrade a little bit here, a little bit there, we needed a new thus-and-such anyway, as long as the wall is open let’s put in a new so-and-so. And pretty soon they’ve added a hundred grand in upgrades to what the insurance carrier was willing to pay out.
It is with this sort of thing that the church is going to need help from the rest of the Body, not with the basic reconstruction. I hope that this time they put in far more elaborate security than they had anticipated needing pre-2008.
You'll be feeling some flames yourself, for that, but I'm on your side. I wouldn't even donate if my own church caught fire. They don't speak out against the murder of the unborn, and they don't help people in the community who become homeless due to fire, people who have no insurance. I open my wallet for those people. Most folks I know who are in a position to help, do likewise. Never has our priest phoned to ask me to help a particular family, and he knows I could.
One of the life lessons I've had, which I particularly prize, is that individuals help individuals, and collectives help themselves.
That off my chest, I know nothing about this church in Wasilla and they may be exceptions to the general rule.