Published: February 20, 2008 10:49 pm      

Rebuilt church ready for services

Sunday will be the first time the First Christian Church of Gage has been full for actual church services in more than four and a half years since the sanctuary was destroyed in a fire June 14, 2003.

But what makes this first service special is the ecumenical method through which the church made its comeback, said The Rev. Nancy Woods.

Woods is the pastor of First Christian Church of Gage. In the true spirit of faith, she said, it was the help of other churches in the area, and indeed throughout the state, that was the metal that hoisted them back on their feet after the devastating loss.

“We met at the Methodist Church in Gage all this time,” Woods said. “They had an early service and we just had the later service in their sanctuary.”

But that wasn’t the only cross over of good faith, Woods said. “The Believer’s Church also helped us with workers and donations.”

Together with other faiths, the numerous Disciples of Christ, First Christian Churches in Oklahoma also made donations and offered help to refurbish what was left of the church after the fire that fateful day nearly five years ago. There are 75 Disciples churches just within 100 miles of Woodward.

“They never found out what really caused the fire, but they did know it started in the attic,” Wood said. “ The ceiling on the sanctuary just fell in and totally destroyed the sanctuary.”

Through a series of plans to renovate, and volunteer workers, the group chose to simply deal with the loss of the nearly 2,000 square feet of newer construction and renovate the older fellowship hall, built in the early 1900s, to suit their needs, she said.

Now, though the space is smaller than they had, the group will meet for full services on Sunday.

“We will have Sunday School and the whole thing here now,” Woods said.

Sunday School will begin at 9:30 a.m. and church services will begin at 10:50 a.m.

A grand opening is still planned for the coming weeks, she said.