'We've been able to continue our mission': Zion Cathedral of Praise Church to be demolished following July fire
Zion Cathedral of Praise Church is finding fellowship and support in other Port Huron churches following a fire that rendered their building a total loss in July.
The burned-out shell of the church is still standing at the corner of Moak and 30th streets as officials sort through the building to recover any contents that might have survived the fire. Once that process is done, demolition on the building can begin, Pastor Kim Brown said.
Brown said she hopes for the demolition process to begin this month or next month. Once that happens, the church's contractors will determine whether they can begin work on a new building before winter sets in.
Funds from the church's insurance puts it in a good financial position to begin rebuilding once that process can start, Brown said. She anticipates there will also be some fundraising to cover what insurance will not, but the exact timeline and process of that is still unknown.
Brown said the church has been holding services outside and at St. John's United Church of Christ and Bridges church. She hopes to have a firmer schedule of where services will be held through the winter by the end of this month, but said many churches and organizations have opened their doors to offer space to worship or other help.
"We've been able to continue our mission, baptizing, teaching, praying and preaching and helping others," she said. "We've been able to still do the things that we do, just in different locations."
Brown said she is trying to keep the congregation within Port Huron city limits to keep it accessible to its parishioners, some of whom don't have cars.
The church is also poised to continue its mission in helping others. Brown said Zion Cathedral of Praise will hold its annual chili and coats event on Nov. 19 at Woodrow Wilson Elementary, 834 Chestnut St. The event, which is a collaboration between several area churches and organizations, distributes coats and a warm meal to area families in need.
St. Clair County Organizing for Regional Equity, or SCCORE, also operated out of Zion. Brown said the youth organization has found a temporary home at St. John's beginning this month for its after-school programs.
One silver lining from the fire has been the collaboration and fellowship that has come from working with other churches and organizations in the faith community, Brown said.
"It's a nice cross-fellowship and bringing our body together, and that's what I'm finding in this process; that for us it's a time of definitely growing and a beautiful time of exchange," Brown said. "And we have just been really fortunate to receive the love of our complete community."
St. John's Pastor Dick Hotchkin also said it's been a positive for his staff to get to know Brown, Zion church members and SCCORE staff. The church allows the Zion congregation to use its fellowship hall for services, as well as classrooms and a boardroom for SCCORE.
Hotchkin said he has also lost a church to a fire in his career as a pastor, so he knows what Brown and the congregation are going through.
"I know it’s a traumatic thing for a pastor and congregation but it’s an opportunity also to get a new building, and in the meantime, to meet a lot of people you otherwise would not meet," Hotchkin said.
The fire was reported at about 6:15 p.m. July 26. No one was at the church when the fire started, as church members and staff had just left for dinner. When firefighters arrived, the structure was fully engulfed in flames, Port Huron Fire Battalion Chief James Hayes has said.
Port Huron Fire Chief Corey Nicholson said Friday the investigation into the cause of the fire remains open and active. He said the length of fire investigations can vary based on internal and external factors — some of which are outside the city's control — but declined to provide further details.
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Zion Cathedral of Praise Church to be demolished following July fire
