The heat from the massive fire that destroyed First Baptist Church in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on Tuesday night could be felt from several streets away, witnesses told reporters.
The flames turned the picturesque white church into char, leaving church members weeping at the scene, “gathered in disbelief,” described the Boston Globe.
“I saw the lightning strike the steeple, and we saw the smoke and it just went up in flames fast,” Christian Bruno, who lives across the street, told CBS Boston.
But something carried out of the ashes, something the hungry fire did not consume, awed church members and scores of people who have heard the story through media reports.
The painting of Jesus that hung inside the front door of the church was unharmed, a mystery that has become the headline of this story.
A great #miracle.#Fire #Jesus #Church #Painting
Painting of Jesus miraculously survives inferno at historic Massachusetts church https://t.co/KM8y4MHSAG #FoxNews
— Ronovan Writes (@RonovanWrites) October 25, 2018
“It’s a beautiful sign of hope and a reminder that Jesus is with us,” church member Maria Kakolowski told Boston 25 News.
“I’m personally just taking it as a sign and a reminder that the Jesus, the Christ that we serve, is still alive. And even though our church building is gone, our church is here and the God that we serve is still here.”
The 1872 church was both a house of worship and education, home of the Tall Spire Nursery School that had educated several generations of children, according to the Globe.
Michael Sullivan, the town’s fire chief, told the newspaper the fire caused about $1 million in damage. Some of the 100 or so firefighters who fought with the flames suffered minor injuries, Sullivan told the newspaper.
“Our faith is one of hope and resurrection, and we believe that we can rise from the ashes and joy comes in the morning,” the church’s pastor, Norman Bendroth, told WCVB in Boston.
Church members were expected to gather on Wednesday to decide their next move.
The painting of Jesus, the Globe reported, will be given to one of the church’s former pastors.
