BLOOMINGTON — The First Christian Church congregation has waited to worship on Kirkwood Avenue again after a devastating fire three months ago. They can now come back to the building on Sundays, even though the sanctuary remains closed.
First Christian Church held services inside its Great Hall on Christmas Eve and will continue to do so every Sunday going forward. It was the first time they worshiped inside the church since it caught fire on Oct. 1.
"It's stabilizing, and it brings our community back together," said First Christian Church pastor Kyrmen Rea. "It's like coming home after a long, long trip."
The fire started in Rea's office, although she was not in the building at the time. She watched the fire burn from across Kirkwood.
"It just blazed so high and so fast," Rea said. "We thought the building was going to go down."
The church, which was built in 1919, is still standing. However, the sanctuary is covered in scaffolding while restoration crews continue to clean soot and grime from the fire.
"You can't even see how high we go because the top is covered in scaffolding," Rea said.
Rea estimates the sanctuary could reopen in late January.
In the meantime, the Great Hall will host Sunday service, then immediately serve free breakfast to Bloomington's less fortunate. Rea said that is the reason why the Great Hall is open, and the sanctuary is not.
"We prioritize feeding our neighbors," Rea said. "That means we are not in our grand sanctuary yet. We could have had them do the sanctuary first."
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Taj Simmons the In Your Community reporter for Monroe and Morgan counties. He joined WRTV in August of 2023. The Oakland, CA native is not a Hoosier by birth, but is excited to learn all about the area and tell the stories of the people who make this state feel like home. Share your story ideas and important issues with Taj by emailing him at taj.simmons@wrtv.com.
