‘We are the church’: Rochester ministry vows to endure after losing building to fire
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A devastating fire late Wednesday night has left Living Water Worldwide Ministry without a home.
“I deal with a lot of broken people in this office. Marriages. Relationships,” Chief Apostle Chalanda Harp said. “You’ve seen family, fathers come out of prison, I meet their children. Husbands come back to their wives. Wives go back.”
Harp, who has been pastor at the church for two years, is coming to terms with the loss of the building on Thurston Road.
“I went to the back of the building and the back of the building was on fire. And I lost it. I’m still at a loss for words,” Harp said.
Flames broke out at a two-story apartment building at the corner of Thurston Road and Alberta Street in the 19th Ward on Wednesday night. Rochester firefighters started battling the fire from inside the building but had to eventually fight it from the outside because of its intensity. One firefighter went to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters say the building cannot be saved, according to Harp. She said her team had to pick her off the ground because she was so devastated.
Church member Regina Cupidon is thankful to God that no one was hurt. Everyone living in the apartments above the church made it out safely.
“You know, we have been a community here. We have served the community so it’s hard to see a community get hit if you would say,” Cupidon said.
But no matter how hard the church has been hit, Cupidon says her church family will endure.
“When we find a home, if it’s outside, if it’s just standing out here having service on a Sunday. Come. You’ll find love. You’ll find joy. You’ll find God,” Cupidon said.
All are welcome, no matter where they end up worshiping.
“We are the church. We have a building but we are the church. So just follow me. As I follow Christ. And I promise my members, we will not be like this always,” Harp said.
Members say they will be relying on donations to find a new church home. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
News10NBC reached out to the property owner for comment, but we have not yet heard back.
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