The future seemed
grim for a small West Texas town like Cross Plains, with a population
of just over one thousand. Then on December 27, 2005, a grass/range
wildfire struck. The fire killed two people and consumed 7,665
acres of land, much of it within the city limits. Out of the
town’s 554 housing units, eighty-five single-family homes,
twenty-five mobile homes, and six apartment units were destroyed
and an additional thirty-six homes were damaged. First United
Methodist Church of Cross Plains and its parsonage burned to
the ground. As the fire subsided, its pastor, the Rev. Jim Senkel,
was handed the keys to First Presbyterian Church of Cross Plains.
He was told that the Methodists were welcome to meet there since
First Presbyterian had only fourteen members and no full-time
pastor.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance contacted the clerk of session,
Elder Barbara Young, and an immediate grant of $10,000 was made
available to First Presbyterian’s congregation. A few
quick and essential repairs were made to the building, and funds
were donated to Cross Plains’s fire department and emergency
medical service. First United Methodist moved into First Presbyterian’s
building and has been meeting there while awaiting its rebuilding.
Presbyterians in Cross Plains have a new sense of purpose and
mission in their community, and new avenues of care and communication
have developed. New life has come to a small group of people
whom God put at the right place at the right time. In Cross
Plains Presbyterians have shown their community that wherever
two or more are gathered, Christ is there with them.
Palo Duro Presbytery has 55 congregations and 9,491 members.
|
