How One Church is Coping After a Devastating Fire

One evening in August came the call that every churchwarden dreads – ‘The Church is on fire’.
Within minutes I was on the scene and what a sight! Smoke and flames billowing from the south and south west windows followed by an explosion as they blew out taking the stone tracery with them.

Thankfully, the fire brigade were quickly on the scene and their prompt action and the time of the outbreak must have been important factors in saving the church, All Saints in Churchill, Oxon, from total destruction.

Mercifully, the structural damage is mainly confined to the meeting room and gallery above (newly constructed with new electrics in 2000).The rest of the building, including the organ, is badly contaminated by smoke damage.

What caused the fire? Everyone keeps asking; but the forensic report is ‘inconclusive’.
All Saints was built in 1826 and  is influenced largely by that of Magdalen College, Oxford.  Following two major restorations and careful maintenance over the last 20 years, it was in good order, but now it will be well into the middle or latter end of next year before services there will resume.

Is there a positive side to all this? Yes certainly there is. God is with us and is listening to our prayers.

Secondly, I have a co-churchwarden who is the antidote to ‘don’t panic’! We have a church member who is an experienced and fully qualified building surveyor and who the insurers have agreed to appoint as Project Manager, a vicar who is enthusing us to keep our church life going, a wonderful and supportive community and congregation in ours and our sister parish, Kingham, tremendously helpful insurers and loss adjusters and the support of our Area Bishop and our Archdeacon.

Services, including some in the village hall, are at full capacity, youth and other activities are getting back into full swing, there is much feedback coming in on whether ‘while we are at it’ there are any re-ordering or improvements to consider. You can, on the whole, say that this is no time for slacking!

Tim Holloway is a Churchwarden at All Saints, Churchill, in the deanery of Chipping Norton.