Much before the conservative crowd could call it gods choice like they eventually did, the churchs leader, Rev. We know queer people are made in the image of our Creator and the queer community holds prophetic power in the kin-dom of God.. Many of Spencers most prominent families have belonged to the church, and most long-time residents have attended countless baptisms, weddings, funerals, and public events there, Baker-Wood said. There was no one in the church at the time and no one was hurt, authorities said. But the fire did not start during a same-sex wedding, nor were there any injuries reported. The Spencer Fire Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Great white sharks along Cape Cod take center stage in Nat Geos Sharkfest: Really rare footage pretty riveting. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. I think the bomb injured a few patrons. God will not be mocked." The Council for Christian Social Action, a predecessor body to Justice and Witness Ministries adopted the " Resolution on Homosexuals and the Law .". It survived for around 160 years before the lightning strike destroyed it. Bishop: Diocese Would Be "Irreparably Damaged" If Unable to Fire Church "First Congregational Church Had Long History in Spencer." Dramatic video captured flames destroying a historic Massachusetts church including its iconic steeple as it came crashing down after the house of worship was struck by lightning Friday. The dome of a church in Massachusetts (USA), which participated in the celebration of gay pride, was struck by lightning and burned down! Fire Destroys 160-Year-Old Massachusetts Church All Rights Reserved. Ed also worked as a writer and editor for WebMD. We've received your submission. Only a large bible survived the fire. 18 Jun 2023 13:32:08 In a June 15, 2023, email to Lead Stories a woman who identified herself as "Elizabeth, Administrative Assistant, First Congregational Church of Spencer, UCC," provided this response for the church: There was not a same-sex marriage ceremony or a Pride event in or around the church. LGBTQ+ Group Threatens to Burn Down Church after Pastor Says Homosexuality Is a Sin by Milton Quintanilla - Christian breaking news commentary. WBTS' Michael Rosenfield reports. Subs. ", CNN announces today there will be no more live audiences at town halls., Hillary Clinton has Parkinsons disease., Both murderers in Texas were not only illegals, but gang members and were most likely tied to MS-13.. Spotted something? Most recently, he was a Digital Senior Producer for Gray Televisions Digital Content Center, the companys digital news hub for 100+ TV stations. Reportedly, the first building which was little more than a barn, dated back to 1743 and stood on the same site, And, the second building, which was constructed in 1772, burned down in 1862. Multiple fires reported after power outages in Waltham, Theft of heads, brains, skin and other body parts from Harvard morgue spurs lawsuit. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Local and state authorities are investigating the fire, but it is unclear whether the fire had any connection to the Pride service, the statement says. Whatever one thinks of modern theology, either in 1959 or in the present day, there is no question that progressive churches often take the lead in undermining the faith by attempting to conform it to prevailing cultural fashions. In 1972, the UCC ordained the first openly gay person into ministry, the Rev. This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing: Sept. 6, 2022, 3:06 PM PDT By Zachary Schermele After a transgender Pride flag outside a Massachusetts church was burned late last month, police confirmed Tuesday that they are investigating. This is an exact picture of what scripture says will happen to the world upon judgement day. Ford Motor Co. is set to lay off at least 1,000 employees in North America less than a week after the auto titan got a multibillion dollar loan from the [], 68% of voters said they have concerns about whether Biden is mentally and physically healthy, The combination of negligence, misconduct, and outright job performance failures. Bruce McLeod, issued a statement to clarify the fire was only a natural disaster. The video which was reportedly captured on June 2, shows a First Congregational Church of Spencer in Massachusetts on fire. "That is the bolt that struck [First] Congregational Church," one of the page managers for the Spencer Fire Department commented. Citing Mary Baker-Wood, the chair of the Spencer Historical Commission, as well as the website for the church, the Globe reported that a Congregational church was believed to have gathered for services on the same land going all the way back to 1743. Only a large bible survived the fire. . Want to help make PolitiFact better? APS ASSESSMENT: False. June 14, 2023 at 7:52 p.m. A Somerville church's sanctuary was set on fire after a Pride worship service over the weekend, as state and local fire officials investigate the blaze. RT @Likeshesays: I am not sure how I missed this story but a LGBTQ friendly church, First Congregational Church of Spencer in Massachusetts was struck by lightning and burned to the ground at the beginning of Pride month. Other than the historical information on the church's website, its leadership included the following on the homepage, "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.". Fire crews rushed to the First Congregational Church in Spencer, Mass. A 160-year-old church named First Congregational Church of Spencer in the U.S. state of Massachusetts was struck by lightning, caught fire and burned to ashes during a homosexual wedding on June 3. Massachusetts church vandalized after LGBTQ Pride flags removed: 'Stay Gay' There is some damage to the sanctuary. The church has posted in favor of LGBTQ rights on their Facebook page (here), (here), (here). Massachusetts Police respond to pro-LGBTq+ graffiti vandalism at local "Spencer Church" in Massachusetts gets destroyed by lightning strike fire! "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. All true Christian churches embrace everyone as sinners and children of God. A congregation member put out the fire and then contacted the Somerville Fire Department, the statement says. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images. This alone speaks volumes about the nature of fact-checking.. Massachusetts church was not holding same-sex wedding when it was hit "Please go find another kebab shop somewhere that's happy to give you that plastic rubbish that you enjoy so much," Mountain said. | Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage. So friends, to affirm and celebrate and participate in anything that God calls an "abomination" is partaking in sin against Him. Initial reports of the conflagration emphasized the hope inspired when a collapsed beam and a standing chimney . Pro-LGBT Church Destroyed After Act of God - Not Even Fact-Checkers Can Fact Check: Massachusetts Church Did NOT Host Pride Event Or Same-Sex William R. Johnson. Church That Posted LGBTQ Messages Burns After Lightning Strike : Ed Payne is a staff writer at Lead Stories. Church Destroyed in Fire." (Proverbs 16:5) (see more verses on Pride in one of my recent posts titled "9 Bible verses about Pride). While not reporting, he enjoys long-distance running. Suddenly, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, a fiery "sword" pierced the sky above the church and literally cut it in two! A "highly suspicious" overnight fire at a Black church in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Monday is being investigated by local and federal authorities. Thanks for contacting us. I do believe God is there with us in the midst of it, and that God is here with us to help us pick up the pieces and figure out what to do next. Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com. On June 6, 2023, a viral tweet with a video of a church building fire began to receive thousands of engagements. A little while after the boys left, the church was wrapped in flames from fires that started from stoves that were white hot.. LGBT Friendly groups in Lowell - Meetup Massachusetts' First Congregational Church destroyed in fire Normandin said the steeple collapsed approximately 45 minutes after firefighters began battling the blaze. The fire happened right after the churchs Pride worship service on Sunday. Una iglesia fue quemada por un rayo en Boston, EE. Leaders of a Somerville church say a fire was set in its sanctuary after a Pride worship service this past Sunday. As [firefighters] were advancing into the church itself, there was a fire in the attic and in the steeple itself, Spencer Fire Chief Paul Normandin told WCVB. The video in the tweet was captured on June 2. The incident is currently being investigated by the local and state authorities, the church wrote. A video of the First Congregational Church in Spencer, Massachusetts burning down is being shared with a false claim that the fire took place due to the church's pro-LGBTQIA+ stance. The dome of a church in Massachusetts (USA), which participated in the celebration of gay pride, was struck by lightning and burned down! In addition, a same-sex wedding was not taking place there either. Services were scheduled to be held at the church at 10 a.m. Sunday. In May, however, the Roman Catholic school fired Starkey as a guidance . June 14, 2023 35 Leaders of a Somerville church say a fire was set in its sanctuary after a Pride worship service this past Sunday. While the church did burn down on June 2, authorities have said that there was no-one inside the building at the time and no injuries were reported (here), (here. Did a Church that Embraces LGBTQ+ People Burn Down After a Lightning ', Here is another fact-check in need of correction, for the tweet in question did not use the word embraced.. Some say it was divine anger over the church's acceptance of homosexuality. The video which was reportedly captured on June 2, shows a First Congregational Church of Spencer in Massachusetts on fire. A 160-year-old Massachusetts church was completely destroyed by a six-alarm fire Friday after the historic building was reportedly struck by lightning. In addition to his journalistic endeavors, Ed is the author of two childrens book series: The Daily Rounds of a Hound and Vails Tales.. THE FACTS: The church caught fire on a Friday afternoon earlier this month when a storm was moving through the area, Thai court acquits 5 who were accused of blocking the queens motorcade during 2020 protests, Shohei Ohtani first AL pitcher in nearly 60 years to homer twice, strike out 10, Angels beat ChiSox, Paul Blackburn pitches Athletics to 2-1 victory over Yankees in Josh Donaldsons return, Exonerated member of Central Park Five takes lead in New York City Council primary. We rate the claim that a Boston church burned during "a homosexual marriage" and there were no survivors False. "Fires." Here's a look at some LGBT Friendly groups near Lowell. Just because there are "churches" and "pastors" going along with the world on "Pride" does not mean it's the truth! Bruce McLeod, made it clear that God wasnt the one to create the fire. A fire was set at a different church in Somerville, Massachusetts, on June 14 (several days after the social media post in question) after it hosted a Pride worship service, according to NBC. This church fire investigation comes after a massive Easter fire at a Cambridge church. I don't think God does it to punish us. No survival from the participants, reads the post, misspelling lightning.. A Massachusetts church was vandalized after a preschool that rents space at the church posted online about how LGBT pride flags its owner posted on the church property was removed by church members. In this story, we've laid out the facts behind this subject, the context of the apparent implication that a higher power caused the fire, thoughts from the church's leader, and also background on the property's centuries-old history. He added that its too early to say whether the church, whose congregation is around 30 people, can be rebuilt. Read our editorial standards. The other half of the story involves the church itself. The church was built in the 19th century, after fire previously destroyed the sites former house of worship, which had been there since 1772, the Boston Globe reported. 33701 Thus, the infamous opinion that God caused the fire is extremely subjective and popular among conservatives who stand against the LGBTQ+ community. The churchs statement said it will continue its celebration of queer joy on Sunday, June 18, at 10 a.m. Photo: The Calgary Astronomy Meetup Group. about 50 miles outside of Boston after reports flooded in at around 3 p.m. that the church's steeple caught on fire . Police investigating that fire believe the blaze was likely intentionally set, as officials asked the public for any photos or videos of Faith Lutheran Church from Easter weekend. Lightning struck the 160-year-old "church" of LGBT supporters in the United States, in Massachusetts. It burned down on Jan. 1, 1862. McLeod is the interim pastor of both the Spencer and Leicester congregational churches. Spencer Fire Chief Robert Parsons confirmed that to PolitiFact, writing in an email that the church was "empty and locked.". Bitchute 2023-06-05, 23:31. Lightning struck a church in Massachusetts, starting a fire. Historic steeple crumbles as 160-year-old church burns down | CNN Social Media Posts Linking Massachusetts Church Fire To Gay Wedding Are Completing this poll entitles you to our news updates free of charge. UU. The footage of the church burning down is authentic, but the fire did not start during a same-sex wedding ceremony. But the fire did not start during a same-sex wedding, nor were there any. 1800 I Street NW Gods wrath, reads one post of the footage on TikTok. Fotos muestran ropa con motivos satnicos en las tiendas Target en 2023. Lowell, MA. Posts online, however, are falsely saying it was filmed in Boston during a gay wedding ceremony. He is an Emmy Award-winning journalist as part of CNNs coverage of 9/11. Officials later said they believe the fire was intentionally set. The church reportedly participated in gay pride month in 2022, as shown on its website, and did the same this year. Some US Christian schools believe religious freedom means they can fire Paul Blackburn pitched into the sixth inning for Oakland, allowing one run on Josh Donaldsons homer in his return to the lineup and sending the Athletics to a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees. Amazons Utopia TV series predicted the COVID-19 pandemic and an intentional effort to sterilize humans, showing the pandemic was planned.