I got an I/M around 4pm yesterday from my wife. "Well, the Clearfield Community Church is on fire right now!! I'm watching the new for more info." Nothing like a fire to make your day interesting. Luckily no one was hurt in the fire.
I'm not a member of the Clearfield Community Church congregation, but the building is important to our family and many of our friends. Several years ago my family joined with other homeschool families and approached the church to ask if we could use their building for a homeschool co-op we were organizing. They allowed us access to their building and they have been wonderful hosts ever since, especially considering we have many children of all ages using the building one day a week.
The church has many classrooms and meeting spaces (we never needed to enter the chapel so we didn't go in there...), but one room that was wonderful for us to use was their multipurpose room where we put on our Shakespeare plays. I directed a show a few years ago and helped out on other shows through the years.
Acoustically, the space was not the best, but it's not the church's fault. I think it made the kids project their voices better and speak with more precise diction (which, when doing Shakespeare, is never a bad thing...). It worked out so well for us for so many shows.
I haven't heard, but I believe the building's a total loss. They had just completed several renovations, especially in the multipurpose room. The fire is sad for many reasons. The congregation has lost their building. Ours and other groups have lost a school. The community has lost a place of sanctuary.
We're not sure what we're going to do to replace our one-day-a-week school, but that pales in comparison to others coping with the disaster. One thing I do know, the people who were so kind to our group (when they didn't have to be...) should have some blessings coming their way.
Thanks to Traci Rothschild Eggleston for permission to use her photographs
It's always hard when a community building burns. :( In my town, a few years ago, the old soda pop shop (now an ice cream parlor / bakery) burned down. It was so sad, but lucky in that it was part of a strip, and it and the apartment above it (where the fire started) were all that went up. Since then, it's been rebuilt and we're so happy they were able to stay. My husband and I had our wedding cake done there, and I have a ton of memories of going there as a kid. So many local places have had to close down, it's nice when one gets to stay.
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