This is to let you know that this last Thursday, May 7, there was a devastating fire at Hall 1 of the church in Vancouver starting from the roof of the main meeting area where roofers were working at the time to replace the roof. Fifty to sixty firemen were involved for about six hours before the fire could be extinguished. The persistence of the fire forced the fire crews to adopt a defensive strategy of limiting the fire to the main roof until the major part of the roof was gone. Besides the main meeting area the rest of the building has extensive water and smoke damage and the whole building has become unusable. There was no loss of life or injury, and the building was not occupied at the time. A link to a news clip is given below, and two pictures are shown in the attached PDF. Click here for an aerial view: View from helicopter
We are presently coordinating with the insurers, engineers and many other parties involved to accomplish the multitude of things that have to be done following this incident. Although it is not adequate, we are making use of Hall 2 for some meeting purposes.
We covet the prayers of the churches in turning this apparent setback to be our salvation through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ:
- · Above all that the Lord would gain the reality of the Body of Christ in all of us. Surely the Lord has some speaking through this environment.
- · That the temporary meeting arrangements would be the best possible for the building up of the Body of Christ.
- · That our insurers and the roofer’s insurer would have agreement and come to the proper assessment.
- · That the City would be favorable to our needs and grant all necessary permits for reconstruction.
- · That the neighbors would be favorable to the facility we need to build. (In this respect, at the time of the fire and later many neighbors came out, and we were pleasantly surprised at the positive comments and support from so many).
“May we see His considerations when our circumstances are smooth, and may we realize His special visitation when our circumstances are difficult. He wants to lead us to walk on a way that is more difficult but also deeper, a way that often is beyond our understanding.” – (God’s Need and God’s Goal – p.46, by W Lee).
The leading brothers of the church in Vancouver
http://globalnews.ca/video/1986998/fire-burns-through-vancouver-church/
