STANDISH — Members of a Standish church that was destroyed on Thursday when two teenage boys set fire to it met this morning for services in their new home – the local library.
Pastor Greg Martin said about 20 people attended the service at the Richville Library, which will serve as the congregation’s new home for the immediate future.
Since Thursday’s fire at the Richville Chapel on Mosley Road Martin said the church has been inundated with offers of assistance. A local contractor and architect have offered to help with the church rebuilding effort and at least two people have offered to donate musical organs.
“I can’t guarantee that we will be able to accept everything that is being offered,” Martin said. “But, I can understand why so many people want to give.”
Two local boys, ages 14 and 15, have been arrested and charged with arson and burglary. Martin said that the boys and their parents have not reached out to him since the fire.
“I could be angry if I wanted to be because I am upset that someone would do that to a church,” said Martin, who has a teenage daughter about their age. “But, I can’t hold any anger, even though it’s the natural thing to do. We need to pray for these boys and hope they get the help they need.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.