Editors note: see correction below.
As stunned parishioners stood heartbroken in a driving thunderstorm, a raging two-alarm fire gutted a 102-year-old church in Maspeth, shattering the main stained glass window – and generations of memories.
Fire authorities have not yet determined the cause of the blaze that engulfed the Maspeth United Methodist Church at 66-35 58th Avenue in the wee hours of Tuesday, June 9.
“The fire was so intense you felt the heat across the street,” parishioner Stephen Shklanko reportedly said. Shklanko, who was married and baptized his sons in the church, said the smell of smoke was so intense he initially thought his own home was on fire.
“This is a nightmare. I actually feel sick, like a part of you is gone,” Shklanko’s wife, Victoria was quoted as saying, while his 80-year-old mother Ruth could only say “It’s breaking my heart,” as she cried for the church she attended for 55 years.
According to published reports, Pastor Aviela DeLeon said he believed that the clapboard structure may have been ignited by lightning strikes during the furious overnight storm.
“My wife woke me at 2:45 a.m. because she heard three loud thumping sounds and thought maybe somebody was breaking into our car,” DeLeon reportedly said. “About 45 minutes later I smelled smoke, and noticed that the back corner of the church was on fire. A few minutes later, the first fire truck showed up.”
It reportedly took until 8:10 a.m. to “knock down” the fire, according to officials, who said that two firefighters suffered minor injuries extinguishing the blaze. The cause is under investigation, they said.
Fire officials also reportedly expressed concern that the structure is so seriously damaged, city Department of Buildings inspectors will have to determine if it is safe to enter before the congregation can retrieve any of the precious contents.
The church community was founded about 155 years ago and moved to its present location in Maspeth at the turn of the 20th century. The building was reportedly dedicated on February 24, 1907.
Like many older congregations, membership dwindled over the years, and reports say that Sunday attendance averaged about 25 for services. Nevertheless, the church was a center of community activity according to locals, being a home for 175 girl scouts, yoga classes and an Alcoholics Anonymous chapter that met on Sunday nights.
A church official reportedly said that it is still too early to think about the church’s future, but the fire was especially devastating because, after 14 years of ministry, DeLeon was due to retire at the end of the month.
“Now, I have no church to retire from,” he reportedly said.
Correction:
Earlier editions of this story said that a pipe organ dating to 1905 was destroyed in the fire. A source familiar with the church has since informed us that the pipe organ had been replaced with an electric organ long before the fire. The information came from an otherwise reliable source. We regret the error.
