A fire destroyed a church just south of the Mason-Dixon line. It happened in the 5100 block of South Church Street in Lineboro around 4AM Tuesday morning. The fire destroyed the entire church in just a few hours. But it wasn’t just one congregation that lost everything. It’s a union church meaning two congregations worship there. Now they’re leaning on each other for support.
One woman who’s part of the congregation said “it was sick, my heart was broken, it was sick.” Both the United Church of Christ and the Lutheran Church Congregations worshiped there. Firefighters took 2 hours to put out the fire. 2 hours of anguish for Pastor Sam Chamelin of the United Church of Christ.
He said “I could see the glow over the houses and trees and knew that it was awful and just to get here and to see the flames coming out the roof was just heartbreaking. It was the worst things you ever want to see.” But the congregation leaders vowed to remain strong in the face of tragedy.
Pastor Chamelin said “Christmas won’t be as fun this year but it may be more meaningful.” Lamar Bailey is the Lazarus Lutheran Vicar. He said “we will be brought even closer together. Two congregations as one.” The Fire Marshal says that they don’t suspect any foul play and it could be an electrical fire that started the blaze. Both congregations are praying together. You can mail your donations to the church if you would like to help with the rebuilding efforts. The address is below:
Lazurus United Church of Christ 5101 South Church St. Linsboro, MD
21102