Congregation looks for new house of worship after massive fire in Norristown
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- What was once a home to three congregations -- a shared church space in Norristown -- is now in ruins dramatically covered in ice.
It was ripped apart by heavy flames and then frozen over by firefighters' efforts.
"The church is the people. And the setback, within the Christian faith, setbacks make a strong stronger," said Deacon Joseph Holod of the Revelation Church of God.
READ MORE: Crews battle hotspots after fire at historic church in Norristown, Pa.
Faith leaders of Revelation Church of God, one of three congregations that worship inside the Faith Tabernacle House of Prayer, looked on as firefighters doused burning embers inside the now-destroyed tabernacle.
"We serve a living God, he never gets surprised by anything. If he allowed it to happen, that means he has provision for us to get back on our feet," said Bishop Cardy Nicolas of Revelation Church of God.
The Revelation Church of God will host a prayer and service online Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a goal of finding a temporary home for the congregation by Sunday.
They are working at a feverish pace to keep their worship community together.
"The church was built in the 1800s right so there's a lot of crevices in the church. It's heavy timber construction. It made the fire challenge very difficult for our firefighters," said Norristown Fire Chief Tom O'Donnell.
It took until 5:30 a.m. Wednesday for the fire to be declared under control. Icicles formed as crews drowned out hot spots.
Flames were initially seen at the back of the church on the first floor where the kitchen is located.
"We feed the homeless and we give them clothes too," said Nicolas. "Yesterday, we were going to have an event for the homeless again and that's when the gentleman said he heard a big noise somewhere. They don't know what kind of explosion, they don't know if it's an electrical wire, we don't know exactly."
Thankfully, there were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. The fire marshal has not yet determined the cause of the fire.
