Bishop visits destroyed church for special service
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HAYWOOD COUNTY, Tenn. — After a fire believed to be an arson destroys Trinity United Methodist Church, the congregation continues to grieve and grow. The church held a special service Sunday with guest speaker William McAlilly, bishop for the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church. Since mid-January, the Methodist church has been using a Baptist fellowship hall to hold weekly services. “We Methodist can be Methodist no matter where you are,” McAlilly said. All that remains at the site of the historical church now includes palettes of bricks and debris. McAlilly visits the congregation to inspire members to embrace the tragedy. “Be the church that God is calling you to be,” he said. “Not the church that you were — you can’t go back.” The bishop says the church will recover. Pastor John Bonson said the congregation has moved past acceptance in the stages of grief. “I think they’re hopeful that the ATF will be able to identify the suspect, because they’ve actually made comments that they want accountability but they’re also prepared to forgive,” Bonson said. “That will be a major step for them when that happens.” The congregation said even without a permanent building, its faith is rock solid. The church plans to begin looking at plans for reconstruction within the next few months.
