- Smoldering Hymnal
Yesterday morning as we entered the Oysterville Church to set up for the afternoon’s vesper service, we were first assailed by the smell. It was an acrid, smoky odor – unpleasant and faintly reminiscent of burning garbage. At the same time, our attention was caught by three burning candles on the dais. What we smelled was not the fragrance of candle wax, though there was plenty of it pooling freely on the wooden surface of the podium. None of the candles were in holders; one of them had less than a quarter inch of wick left, a potential disaster minutes from happening.
We extinguished the candles and then headed for the woodstove which seemed to be the source of the odor. Inside were the smoldering remains of one of the church hymnals, the back of its red cover still intact. At that point the situation became just a wee bit creepy. It was 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning with most of Oysterville just beginning to stir and still early for the day’s steady stream of summer tourists. Who would have done such a thing? Was some twisted statement being made? Was our little church in jeopardy?
For over a century the Oysterville Church has remained open to all. No matter the season, the weather, the time of day, it has offered sanctuary and solace to residents and visitors alike. It has seen its share of vandalism – people taking door knobs and strike plates and pieces of the old kerosene lamps. But to my knowledge, this is the first time that someone has deliberately put the church at risk by fire. I cannot believe it was an accident.
Last night we put away the “church open” sign and padlocked the front door and will continue to do so for awhile. Closing the church, even for the night, tugs at my heartstrings and, as I looked across the street early this morning, it seemed to me that the building, itself, seemed a bit diminished. I feel the illogical desire to offer an apology (and probably will do so) when I go over to unlock it a little later. An apology and a prayer…
That breaks my heart to know some evil doing vandels would target Oysterville.
That Church is SUCH an Oysterville Icon an National Treasure; It would be a disaster to have it burn down. An offense like that should be considered Terrorism!
Security Camera? from across the road? Ask Dave Glasson at LB city hall if it is feasible.
Sydney—You made me cry so early on a Monday morning! I’m so sorry to hear that.
What a distressing, worrisome occurrence.
Outrageous. I’m with Jim — security camera? It’s always one sick individual who creates a situational change that affects everyone.
Sydney, this is sickening and was done by a sick mind. Probably not serious about actually burning down the chuch but wanting to make an anti-religious statement and if the church burned in the process, so be it. Nothing must happen to that sweet church and I believe, like you, that it has feelings. It enfolds you lovingly in its arms when you enter the door. I have felt that since I was a little girl.
I’m practically speechless. I am so glad that you and Nyel were there at an opportune time. I suppose that if the candles were taken from the Church, the time of the occurrence could be calculated, whatever good that will do.
I frankly think that if a camera system were installed you would have to have someone monitor it, and what good would that do if real damage were done? You might be able to determine who it was after the fact.
So, what remains are alarms of some sort. This is repugnant to the spirit of this community. It’s a dilemma. but consider this outside the box solution, but please snicker softly. Guinea fowl are well known as guards. They eventually learn to recognize familiar faces and are excellent for rodent control and other pests. Lastly, it is a nineteenth century solution to this problem.
For now, I think you are doing all that can be done, isn’t that sad.
Sydney and Nyel: It has taken your California friends all day to consider who might have done this. Because we (of a certain age) have committed ourselves to not living in fear, we wonder how all of us can integrate the reality of what happened in the Church, in O’Ville, into our lives. “The or (a) Church has been an Icon for many of us, and to consider it “abused” by someone(s) with no respect for what a Church represents is unthinkable. We will continue to use our psychological backgrounds to sift and sort through the reality. Know that we are thinking of The Village, its history and the fact that you two live across the street. N and J