In December of 2009, I was the speaker for a ladies Christmas event at the First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City. I didn’t realize it until I got there, but it is the church that sits directly across from the Murrah Building/National Memorial. (The sight of the Oklahoma City bombing which happened 20 years ago this Sunday, April 19th.) The dinner was held in their rebuilt sanctuary.
On April 19, 1995, The First United Methodist Church vaulted to worldwide attention with the tragic bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. The church was heavily damaged, and the congregation was forced to relocate for three years. Within 36 hours of the bombing, a banner was hung from the church, declaring the members’ can-do spirit for the entire world to see: “OUR GOD REIGNS AND WE WILL REMAIN!”
After I spoke I was given a special tour of the building, where I saw photos and heard many of the stories of events that happened that day. All of them were touching…one of them moved me to tears.
As Oklahomans prepare to honor those we lost, I wanted to share the story with you.
The original sanctuary was one of those beautiful turn-of-the-century buildings with lots of detailed walnut woodwork, incredible stained glass windows and a full balcony above. It also housed the staff offices on the bottom level under one of the balconies.
The morning of the bomb the staff was in a meeting in another part of the building. (Thankfully, the time had been moved-up from the original time scheduled or they would have been in their offices.)
As soon as it happened they hurried to help the survivors. Within the hour, church members began to arrive to offer food and comfort to the rescue personnel.
It didn’t take long for all of them to feel worn out and defeated, especially the senior pastor; he had never seen such destruction. On top of that, the part of his church that was still standing now housed the temporary morgue. One by one the bodies of the dead were being brought in and held until they could be moved. As the body count continued to rise his spirits plummeted. It was not supposed to be this way.
Because of the damage he couldn’t even go into his office or the sanctuary to see what remained – so he just kept going…reaching out…praying…doing what he could.
Hours later he talked the police into letting him see the remains of the sanctuary.
“We will need to go in and out quickly,” they told him, unsure of the stability of the building (They allowed this only because he needed to find the address/phone list of his congregation so they could all be contacted.)
“We don’t think you will find anything,” they told him, “but we will let you look anyway.”
Before he entered he took a moment to stop and pray. He asked God to let him find something, anything that would give him some hope that their lives could be rebuilt.
As expected, the devastation was extreme. The sanctuary was in shambles; the balconies had collapsed, the stained glass windows were in tiny pieces and the woodwork was bent and broken. The staff offices were crushed underneath the balconies; there was nothing left but destruction. It was destroyed. With broken glass crunching under his feet, he did a quick search for anything that might still be intact.
There was nothing.
Then he saw it – one piece of glass, obviously a portion of one of the stained glass windows. It was only a small piece and just a few inches in diameter, but it was not cracked or broken. Picking it up, he held it to the light. It was the face of Christ.
It was the thing he had prayed for . . . the one thing still intact . . . the answer from God to his prayer.
He said that it was as if God was saying, “See, I am here, I have not left you. Even when life is broken I am with you.” At that moment he knew that Christ was still very much alive in his church.
We ended the tour in a small chapel on the other side of the building.
“Look,” my tour guide told me. She pointed up above the altar to a small stained glass window. “This is my favorite place in the entire church. The circle in the center is the piece of glass from the sanctuary. We had it made into a new window and it is here where the morning light can come through.”
It was evening, but there was enough light from the streetlamp outside to clearly see the glowing face of Christ.
We looked at each other and smiled. We were both crying. It was a holy moment.
Salvaged from the bomb-blasted fragments, the window places Christ at the center of all and declares: “The Lord takes broken pieces and by His loves makes us whole.”
As you watch the coverage of the memorial this weekend, think about that window and the promise it still gives…that even in the most evil of times, Christ is there.
“He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.”
– Psalms 147:3 ESV
OH MY! Such a story of HOPE!! Thank you for sharing that!
A beautiful reminder of the HOPE we have in Jesus. An amazing story of answered prayer. So glad they made a piece of stained glass with it.
Such a beautiful, inspiring story. Thank you for sharing!