Texas Church Destroyed by Fire
HOUSTON --
An early-morning fire destroyed Macedonia Worship Center in Sunnyside, but the 10 a.m. worship service went on as scheduled, KPRC Local 2 reported Sunday.
"It doesn't matter where you are. You can worship where ever you are," Pastor Walter Pope said.
Pope preached from the pulpit to about three dozen people. Folding chairs were set up in the parking lot of the church, just feet away from the charred remains of their church.
The members were not saddened; instead they were rejoicing.
"That's just materialistic stuff in there. Nobody got hurt. We are the church. That's just a building," longtime member Elizabeth Crofton Reed said.
The fire tore through the building early Sunday morning. Close to 40 firefighters battle the flames that took about an hour to put out.
While getting ready to preach, Pope paused to take a look at the damage in the daylight.
"When you put a lot of work trying to build something up, and you see it torn down right before your eyes, it hurts a lot," said Pope.
Early indications point to the air conditioning unit as to how the fire started.
What ever the cause, the Macedonia Worship Center will be rebuilt.
"Hopefully, we'll be up and running by Christmas," said Pope.
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