Valley City church to rebuild after arson

VALLEY CITY, N.D. In the early morning hours of Oct. 21, the Rev. Jolene Knudson-Hanse received a phone call: Her church was burning.

I just kind of went into response mode, like when you get a call from the hospital in the middle of the night, you just go and you dont really think about it, she said. It really didnt hit me until a few hours later when we were sitting down and trying to figure out our next step when we realized we wont have a building. Then it really hits you, all the work that lies ahead and the sadness of losing that place of worship, and thats a workplace for myself and our employees.

On Sunday, the Faith Lutheran Church Council voted during its annual meeting to build a new church on the ground where the old one burned in downtown Valley City. The building sustained $2.5 million in damage from the fire, which investigators later ruled was arson set to cover evidence in a burglary. Three other church burglaries in Valley City before the fire are still being investigated.

Faith Lutheran Church Council President Tory Hart said church officials will meet with architecture firms to plan how to move forward. Hart did not expect the new building to be open for a year or longer, and Knudson-Hanse said construction might not begin until fall or spring 2015.

After the fire, the congregation began holding services at an empty space in a Valley City office building owned by congregation member Greg Burchill, who offered a cut-rate rent that will be paid for a year by the churchs insurance company. Knudson-Hanse said it was a new experience having neighbors, and the church shares the building with CP Rail, Nielson Insurance Agency and the Barnes County Sheriffs Office.

One thing that the people liked was that the sheriffs office was right next door. After the fires and burglaries, it made people feel safe, Knudson-Hanse said.

The church has a congregation of roughly 800 members, but the temporary location offers seating for only 170 people during services. Hart said the size of the worship hall is adequate but the fellowship hall can get crowded.

The accommodations for our worship are good, but were used to a really large fellowship hall where we can gather, have coffee and meals together. Thats the big piece thats tight and were dealing with it the best we can, Hart said.

Fire and forgiveness

Hart said he watched the firefighters battle the blaze firsthand because he had left for work early that day, and he immediately knew it would be bad for the church.

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Valley City church to rebuild after arson