Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 24, 1995                   TAG: 9504240069
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BURNED CHURCH MAY HAVE TO BE RAZED

On the day after watching their historic former sanctuary gutted by fire, members of Gainsboro's First Baptist Church got more bad news Sunday when they learned that "there is a very high probability" that the remaining walls and tower "will have to come down."

Roanoke Director of Public Safety George ``Chip'' Snead addressed the congregation briefly during their worship service Sunday morning after completing an inspection of the burned-out building across the street.

"There is serious doubt that the walls are reusable," Snead told the congregation. City inspectors and a private structural engineer found significant cracks in the brick walls and tower. They also discovered that steel lintels that form the primary support for the tower are bowed from the heat.

Though he said it was not likely the walls would collapse spontaneously in the next day or two, Snead said the precarious condition of the building precluded sending investigators inside to try to determine the cause of Saturday's blaze. Snead also closed Jefferson Street in front of the building as of Sunday morning.

So far, Snead said, no cause was known. Authorities said Saturday, though, that they were investigating a broken window at the rear of the church.

In an interview before the church service, Snead said the remains of the building could come down as early as Tuesday.

Sunday evening, cars cruised slowly down Gilmer Avenue by what was left of the old church. Many drivers pulled over and craned their necks to look up at the hollow steeple against the gray sky. The building was still smoldering in the drizzle.

Former state Sen. Granger Macfarlane, who also addressed the First Baptist congregation Sunday morning, urged Snead to consider extraordinary measures to salvage at least a portion of the existing walls for future use.

The nearly century-old building had been leased since 1991 by the Acting Company of Roanoke Valley and the League of Roanoke Artists. It was known as Arts Place at Old First and extensive renovation had been done in the past four years.

The building is still owned by the church, however.

The Rev. Kenneth Wright, pastor of the congregation, and others called to lead prayers or songs repeatedly emphasized that the loss was "only material" and downplayed its significance in relation to the loss of life in Wednesday's bombing in Oklahoma City.

Part of the worship service was devoted specifically to prayers for the victims and families of the Oklahoma bombing.

"We do not want to be too deeply involved in our agony and forget the greater suffering experienced by our brothers and sisters in Oklahoma City," Wright said. That was a sentiment expressed repeatedly by church members in the hallways of the church just prior to the service.

Still, there was a little grieving for their own losses by members and visitors. Those included Lin Neill, a member of the Arts Place at Old First board of directors, and the Rev. Frank Feather, pastor of Forest Park Baptist Church, which has had a long-term companion relationship with First Baptist.

Wright called on the congregation to avoid thinking about retaliation for whoever or whatever caused the fire, and to trust that God will use their loss to prompt them to greater work.

The old building had great sentimental and historical value, Wright said, but the fire may be an opportunity for the church to refocus on its mission to fill the social and human needs of the community around it.

"God is still in our midst. We must trust him. Out of this devastation we trust that the city will be better off and we will be better off," Wright said.

Staff writer Matt Chittum contributed information to this story.