By:Jeff Lipton
The fire, at the Christian Missionary Alliance, 150 Rockaway Turnpike, erupted at about 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11, causing about $15,000 in damage to the roof and steeple, church officials said.
The fire could have created much more damage if an anonymous passerby hadn't seen the lightning strike and immediately summoned the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, which is about two blocks from the church. During the storm, some department members were standing by at the firehouse, at Washington and Central avenues, in case of just such an emergency, said Second Deputy Chief Donaven Wright.
"Thank God this guy was standing outside and saw it, and then called us," said Wright. "If he were not out there, the entire church might have been lost."
"The steeple was pretty much gone," said one police official.
Wright described the lightning strike and the ensuing fire as "very unusual." He said that about 20 members of the department spent about 45 minutes trying to bring the blaze under control.
No one was inside the church at the time, so firefighters had to break down the front door. Church members were expected to meet there later that night, at about 7:30 p.m., for a prayer service.
David Navarijo, a treasurer at the church, said it was a good thing it wasn't open at the time. "We were lucky," he said.
The thunderstorms produced dangerous lightning throughout the region, and dumped some four inches of rain on parts of the area in less than two hours.
"An hour before that happened I was at the church," Navarijo said. "I left, and an hour later they called me and told me what had happened. It's good that no person was hurt."
The site on which the church building stands has a storied 173-year history. A chapel was first erected on the site in 1831, and 30 years later it was destroyed by a fire, according to building records at Lawrence Village Hall. A church was built in 1900, and seven years later it was enlarged, the last time major repairs were made to the structure, records show.
About 10 years ago, the Christian Missionary Alliance took over the building from a Korean Methodist church, and the 80 members of the congregation, most of whom live in Far Rockaway, have tried to make repairs to it ever since, focusing particularly on its stained-glass windows. "We don't have enough funds to make repairs," Navarijo said. "We have tried to fix it a little at a time.
"We have had some trouble with the church building, but little by little, we are repairing it," he added.
The church also has had a difficult time maintaining a cemetery that it owns across the street, the Lawrence Methodist Cemetery, where some of the earliest settlers of the Five Towns are buried. The cemetery has been neglected and riddled with trash for many years. Funds to take care of it are lacking as well, church officials said.
"I felt terrible when I heard about the fire," said Elyse Craft, of Commack, whose relatives are buried in the cemetery and who has been working on a restoration project to spruce up the cemetery grounds. "It's just tragic."
Of the lightning strike, Craft said, "It makes you wonder." She said she is considering raising funds for the church to help it get back on its feet.
Navarijo said that insurance would cover damage caused by the fire. "I don't know how long we will have to wait," he said. "We have to wait until the insurance company gives us an answer."
He said the church's front door was heavily damaged when firefighters forced it open to get to the blaze, and it will cost another $5,000 to fix it.
But Navarijo added that the damage would not prevent congregants from meeting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for prayer services and on Sundays for Bible study.
For the time being, however, they'll have to use a side door.
