Pastor asks for prayers after explosion destroys 151-year-old Virginia church
A Virginia pastor is asking his community for prayers after a massive explosion that shook some homes like an earthquake damaged his 151-year-old church on Monday night.
"Right now, we are just asking for the community to pray for us. Of course, we are early in our planning period," Marcin Wilson, pastor of the destroyed Forest Level Baptist Church, told WDBJ 7. "We have a meeting being scheduled … with our leadership team to just plan our way forward. As we learn what our needs are, we will make it known."
Officials from the Bedford Fire Department say they first responded to reports of an explosion at the Bateman Bridge Road church around 11 p.m. and found smoke and fire in the basement along with a large hole in the first floor.
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Bedford Fire Marshal Leo George told ABC 13 the explosion was caused by a liquid petroleum gas leak that filled the basement and partially filled the church's first floor.
"When something kicked on and ignited, it gave that spark," George noted. He said fire officials were trying to find out which appliance in the church sparked the fire.
"We are working to get the building secure and stable so we can get in and find out which component of which device was leaking the LP gas. We don't have any reason to believe it was anything other than an accident," George explained.
While the explosion partially blew out some of the church's walls, resulting in major structural damage to the historic building, no one was injured.
"We know things are going to happen, we are just happy no one was injured. Buildings can be replaced. We wish the church the best," George said.
Still, neighbors who heard the blast said they were terrified by the sound.
"I literally heard a noise, and the whole house shook, and I thought that something had run into the front of my house," Carly Hunt, who lives across from the church, told ABC 13.
"I thought someone must have hit the metal fence. And then it sounded like a large boom and then literally shaking the house. So then, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, someone must have hit the house.'"
Long-time church member Evelyn Read, who also lives next door to the church, described the explosion as a "big hurt."
"It's a big hurt because you think of all of the programs that we used to have up there and the fun that we had," she said, recalling how the explosion made her feel like it was hit by an earthquake or dynamite.
"It's a sadness because I think about all of the hard work that went into it, different programs we put on to build that church. Our parents and grandparents sacrificed."
While acknowledging that the explosion "made our hearts sad," Pastor Wilson insisted that it will not stop the work God has been doing through the church.
"It's got a rich heritage, and we thank God for it," he told WDBJ7. "We intend to rebuild and refocus and to continue to do what God has purposed for the church."
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