Year End Fire at Grace

In the early morning hours of December 31, 2011, a fire broke out in the old church building of Grace Church. Several fire companies responded and fought the fire for many hours into Saturday afternoon, dealing with a rekindling of the fire on Saturday morning and then briefly again on Sunday afternoon. Most of the building suffered serious fire, water and smoke damage with the roof of the old sanctuary caving in and the floor of the sanctuary caving through to the lower level. The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

The old church, often referred to as the "education building," was the worship sanctuary for Grace Church from 1904 to 1989. In more recent years it has housed the Stepping Stones Nursery School, the educational programs of Grace Church, and also the stage performances of the Laymen Playmen, a Christian theatrical group. For 25 years the Laymen Playmen have drawn participants and audiences from many of the area churches for two weeks of annual performances of well-known plays. The group was currently preparing for their performance of the classic Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes" this coming February.

With the diligent care of the responding fire companies, the new church building and two adjacent homes were spared from any fire damage. The new church, built in 1989, continues to be the center for worship and administrative activities of Grace Church. Sunday worship was held as usual the day after the fire, January 1, 2012.

The lost building represents many years of memories and ministry for so many people of the Hatfield area. The congregation is grateful, though, that there was no loss of life or limb due to the fire. The fire will obviously create some difficult challenges for the congregation to face in the coming months. The Stepping Stones Nursery School and Day Care programs are temporarily located at Plains Mennonite Church at 50 West Orvilla Road and Welsh Road in Hatfield Township. Both programs are operating as usual. The Laymen Playmen are presenting their planned performances of "Anything Goes", February 9 through 19, at the Lansdale United Methodist Church, 300 North Broad Street in Lansdale.

The congregation is grateful to the brave firemen and other emergency responders who put out the fire and prevented damage to other structures. Grace members and leaders are also appreciative for the many expressions of concern, assistance and prayers offered by Hatfield residents and other churches. We are especially grateful to Plains Mennonite Church and Lansdale Methodist Church for accommodating Stepping Stones and Laymen Playmen during these weeks following the fire. We at Grace request your continued prayers for God's strength and guidance, and for the discernment to find new opportunities for service and witness in the midst of this tragic loss.