Bishop Steve Wood thought he was over it.
It’d been a year since his church went up in flames, and he’d gotten used to his “new normal” that includes hosting worship services inside a Mount Pleasant school.
But then he saw television images showing flames engulfing Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral. The painful memories returned of his own St. Andrew’s ablaze just a year earlier.
Though thousands of miles apart, the two churches had more in common than the fire.
News outlets showed images of the golden altar cross still standing in the Catholic cathedral. After the fire at St. Andrew’s, the cross stood among the ash and rubble.
“I just had a sense of God’s presence,” Wood said.
Even in the wake of losing its ministry center to flames — forcing church staff to work remotely and parishioners inside a school for worship services — St. Andrew’s is pressing forward. The congregation continues to grow in size and faith as it builds its new ministry center, expected to open spring 2020.
Bishop Steve Wood thought he was over it.
It’d been a year since St. Andrew’s went up in flames, but then he saw television images showing flames engulfing Notre Dame.
Though thousands of miles apart, the 2 churches had more in common than the fire. https://t.co/8mFy2CSQ7B
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) April 29, 2019