Lighting struck the bell tower of the United Methodist Church in Fleischmanns at 8:45 a.m. on August 21, blasting off siding and blowing out six windows.
"Somebody said it sounded like a bomb went off," said Adrian Todd, the pastor of the church, which is also known as the Fleischmanns Community Church. "It was loud."
Todd wasn't at the church at the time of the strike, but several people were driving by and witnessed it.
"The windows blew out just as they were right in front of the church," Todd said.
The windows were plain glass, not stained glass. Todd said that the church's insurance company is investigating and determining whether it will cover the damage.
There were no injuries. Todd said that the tenants who live in the adjacent building were not affected.
Volunteers helped clean up the shattered glass off the church lawn yesterday, and today the broken windows are covered with plywood.
The church building dates from 1884, and as far as Todd knows, this is the first time it has been struck by lightning.
Is there a theological explanation?
"Different people have been asking me that," Todd said. "I don't really know. Sometimes people think they're trying to get a message. I don't think so. We may find out, but not right now."
Larry Dunlap, the lead pastor of the Upper Catskills Larger Parish, which includes the United Methodist Churches of Fleischmanns, Andes, Halcott, Margaretville and Roxbury, was on the scene on Thursday in Fleischmanns.
He said that Todd told him yesterday, "If it was Sunday morning, in the middle of my sermon, that would be different."
The lightning strike, act of God or no, will not interrupt the church's schedule. Regular services and a special "Afternoon of Music" piano recital to be performed by 10-year-old Sydney Asher on September 14 at 2 p.m. is still on, Todd said.
Below: Plywood covers six windows in the bell tower of the Fleischmanns United Methodist Church. Photo by Benjamin Fenton.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly described Larry Dunlap as the pastor of the Methodist Church in Andes. He is the lead pastor of the Upper Catskills Larger Parish, which includes Andes, Fleischmanns, Halcott, Margaretville, and Roxbury.
