EN CHESAPEAKE
Early morning
fire destroys
Hagerstown church
A two-alarm fire discov-
ered about 1 a.m. on Wednes-
day, September 4, left only a
shell ofthe church in Hagers-
town, Maryland.
Several teenagers spotted
smoke and called the fire de-
partment. Two floors were
gutted and the roof had caved
inby thetime the fire fighters
had brought the blaze under
control at 2:15 a.m.
The fire evidently started
at the rear of the building in
a classroom storage area and
soon spread to the roof.
The church's pipe organ,
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piano, pews, speaker's desk
and other pieces of furniture were badly
damaged, as were many of the Sabbath
school supplies that were stored in the
building. The loss is estimated to total
more than $1 million.
Since the fire was of suspicious origin,
officials conducted an investigation. On
September 10, Fire Marshal John Hersh
announced that the evidence, including
fingerprints, indicated that the fire was
the result of arson.
Asthe fire was brought under control,
a fire fighter came out of the building
and handed Pastor Tim Roosenberg the
large altar Bible, which had been saved.
Later Norman Mayer, a fire police-
man who also serves as the pastor of the
Calvary Grace Brethren Church, offered
his building for the Hagerstown congre-
gation to use for worship on the following
Sabbath. Several other churches in the
area also made similar offers.
The one chosen was the Church of
God located farther down the highway.
Pending a decision by the church board,
Roosenberg stated he hopes to use that
sanctuary until a new building is ready.
Members of the Hagerstown church
had already purchased land across the
road from the local junior college for a
larger church. The present one was of-
fered for sale as church or commercial
property. The hoped-for price before the
fire was $795,000, but the 105-by-250-
foot lot is still valuable commercial prop-
erty. Roosenberg added that the building
and its contents were fully insured.
The church, which was built during
the early 1950s, currently has 380 mem-
bers and, because of its size and the in-
adequate space available for parking,
had become too small to meet the needs
of the rapidly growing congregation.
EUGENE LINCOLN
Communication Secretary
gramming fromthe Three Angels Broad-
casting Network. And asecond Adventist
satellite network will soon be available
fromJuanita Kretschmar’'s van ministry
in New York City. Similar downlink sta-
tions established in other locations have
resulted in numerous baptisms.
A special focus on programs by local
Adventist churches will be featured, pro-
viding quality Christ-centered viewing
for the entire family.
In addition, plans include broadcast-
ing services and musical programs from
local churches to Kettering Medical Cen-
ter for viewing by its patients and staff.
This ministry can bring the Adventist
message right into the living rooms of
friends or neighbors who may never at-
tend an evangelistic crusade. The mes-
sage of Christ can be viewed for 24 hours
daily and keep expenses at an incredibly
low level—especially when compared to
the high cost of commercial stations.
To find out more about GNBC, which
serves the Dayton area, write to: GNBC,
P.O. Box 512, Dayton, Ohio 45459; or
call (513) 435-4466.
For the Columbus area, write to: Pas-
tor Delmer Kyle, 4986 Deer Run Place,
Westerville, Ohio 43081; or phone (614)
882-1564
I ALLEGHENY EAST
Members sacrifice
life’s pleasures
for Christian education
Gloria Singleton, school board chair-
person for the Dupont Park church in
Washington, D.C., challenged the mem-
bers there to support Christian educa-
tion in a unique and sacrificial way.
During a church school appeal made
one Sabbath morning, she vividly asked
that members cancel one magazine sub-
scription for a year, eliminate unneces-
sary items from the grocery list, take a
lunch to work or to school instead of buy-
Ing one, or give up store sales for a cer-
tain period of time.
The women were asked to forfeit at
least one beauty shopymanicure appoint-
ment a month and even give up designer
stockings. Meanwhile, men were asked
to wash their own vehicles rather than
have them washed.
If every member selected at least one
of these options and placed the savings
in an education fund, the church school
would be able to do many things without
| having to make calls for extra money.
Members would also benefit in other
ways. But most of all, they would have
learned the spirit of sacrificial giving to
help some young person obtain a Chris-
tian education.
MARIE SEARD
Communication Secretary
VISITOR, October 15, 1991
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