Pentecost Sunday Fire at KCC

Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday and our church caught fire in the middle of the sermon! Unfortunately it was not the kind of fire we wanted as it was not a spiritual fire but a physical one, *sigh*

But it sure added excitement to the morning and even in the midst of exiting the church, everyone kept their sense of humour and even laughed aloud at my quirky joke about "another reason why we need to give generously to our church building fund as we do need a new church building!"

A master electrician friend, Carey who came to check the wires and assist the fireman in the assessment "complained"  that "this is the result of fire and brimstone sermons!" *:-)

Our visiting speaker, Steve Kumar, whose sermon I had to interrupt half way told me that this was exciting for him "to preach and set a church on fire"*.


* all approx quotes lah ..

Anyway here's a couple of photos (more on my church website - though none of the smoke coming out of the roof and vents) ... http://kcc.co.nz, and the e-mail I sent out to church members after the fire.

The first is a photo of the firemen finishing their final checks (and putting back the roof for us!)

The second is me leading the church (those who stayed on) in giving thanks to God for His protection and giving thanks for the food! This lunch was our monthly building fund, fund raiser lunch where different home / cell groups take charge of lunch and we all stay back and have a great lunch together. The suggested donation is actually less than half the price for a similar meal outside (and the quality is always very high too!) so everyone can afford to join us and everyone gains.

It was a fun outdoor meal though the weather was a bit chilly.

Hi everyone

First of all, do join us in praising God for His protection.

1. That the power surge (what is believed to be the cause of the fire) did not happen last night when our youth were staying over night in church.

2. That no one was hurt!

3. That those in the kitchen were alert and realized that there might be a fire, and were super calm and acted quickly. By the way the fire was not caused by our internal use.

4. Thank God that the electrical fire was contained to just the region around the power meter. God intervened wonderfully as somehow it stopped at the ceiling and did not spread to the wires in rest of the building (as I am told it normally does).

5. Thank God for the firemen who came so promptly and were very thorough and professional in their work.

6. Thank God for Carey's graciousness in coming over to check the wiring etc which helped the fireman properly assess the situation quickly

7. Thank God that our lunch was safe :-) Was a nice bonus. And that we were able to gave a good time of fellowship in the field, and only after we had finished, did the rain start to fall! And the firemen appreciated the packed lunch the team made for them.

Thanks everyone for how you all handled the situation. Thanks for the orderly way everyone exited the church. I am thankful to hear that Nilesh's experience led him to check the power meter, realize that there was a fire and immediately call the fire department. And thanks Chin for taking charge of the situation so knowledgeably and efficiently

And thanks to JOY group for the hard work and delicious lunch. I noted too how so many chipped in to help, as did some of our youth as well, especially in the cleaning and washing up etc. Thanks so much!

Please pray 

1. That our church insurance company will be able to have their assessors come over promptly and that all the necessary repairs can be done quickly before this coming Sunday.

2. That the roof will not leak when it rains. 

For those coming for prayer meeting tomorrow, we will be meeting at 2 Bamboo Grove (the main SS hall)