[Episcopal News Service]
The village of Beaver on Alaska's Yukon River is mourning the loss of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, lost in a September 3 fire despite heroic efforts to save the 15-year-old structure.
The fire was discovered by a villager walking by the church in the center of the village. She sent out the alarm and people grabbed hoses and fire extinguishers to battle the fire. 'It's hunting season so a lot of the key people were out of the community,' said Chief Charleen Fisher-Salmon. 'We did the very best we could. Children were carrying buckets from the river and doing whatever they were told to do.'
While the outside of the building is standing, rebuilding may be difficult. Insurance may provide basic costs of a new structure and the village is moving quickly to get logs this winter to start rebuilding in the spring. Everything inside was lost, from pews to hymnals to parish records--and the beautiful altar beadwork that will be impossible to replace. 'We had a whole set of photos of the bishops and photos of the community members who had passed on that we were saving,' Fisher-Salmon said. 'Everybody was just devastated after the fire but, as we get organized, we'll start fundraising and try to carry on.'
The Rev. Scott Fisher, rector of a parish in Fairbanks and former priest at St. Matthew's, flew into the village and held a special service. The congregation is concerned now about where to hold services during Christmas since there are few spaces large enough.
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