After fire damages 200-year-old Stahlstown church, congregation perseveres

A 200-year-old church in Stahlstown will need extensive repairs after it was damaged in a fire late Sunday.

No one was injured in the blaze.

“For me, that was the most important,” said Trinity United Methodist Church Pastor Christine Doren. “We can rebuild, but we can’t always rebuild a life or health.”

Doren’s outlook was positive as she stood in the church parking lot that was still wet from fire hoses.

“God is good,” she said as the smell of smoke lingered.

Though the building is intact, the fire seriously damaged the sanctuary.

The interior took the brunt of the damage, but damage from the fire is also visible from the outside, as numerous windows are broken and smoke stained part of the building on Route 711 in Donegal Township.

A Nativity scene outside the church wasn’t damaged, and a silver wreath decorating the church’s door shone in the sunlight Monday. As Doren stood in the parking lot, she wore a sweatshirt that read “Good God Almighty,” the title of a song by Christian artist Crowder.

Community members flowed in and out of the parking lot to inspect the damage, with Doren there off and on throughout the day because of an illness in her family.

It is unclear what started the fire. Fire officials couldn’t be reached Monday afternoon.

The sanctuary will need extensive repairs, Doren said, and the church has contacted its insurance carrier.

If insurance doesn’t cover all of the repair costs, she said, the church might try to raise money or ask community members to lend a hand.

“We’ll be back,” she said. “It’s just a shame that it’s the Christmas season.”

Doren, who has pastored Trinity Church for seven years, leads a three-point charge, meaning she pastors three United Methodist churches in the area. Congregants of the three-point charge were already planning on attending Pleasant Grove Church in Ligonier Township for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

“God knew where we needed to be at that time,” Doren said, adding that Trinity Church congregants likely will attend Pleasant Grove Church or Zion Church in Ligonier Township until repairs are complete at Trinity Church.

Staff Writer Renatta Signorini contributed to this story.