The smell of smoke still hung over the charred remains of St Paul’s Presbyterian Church as its congregation and the wider community gathered on the first Sunday since fire devastated the Napier sanctuary.
Around 100 people gathered at the Tennyson Street site for a public karakia before the congregation moved to its former church hall, Asher Hall, this morning.
The fire broke out about 1am last Monday, leaving the church’s main worship space, known as the sanctuary, gutted and warped.
Police are treating the blaze as suspicious and said today they continue to investigate.
Flowers, ribbons and handwritten messages lined the construction fence outside the damaged church, with people adding their own words of support during the gathering.
During the karakia, Reverend Carolyn Kelly reflected on the loss of a building that had carried generations of memories.
“For today we do bear sorrow for all that has been lost in this fire, in this place,” she said.
She spoke of the baptisms, weddings, funerals, concerts and other moments the church had hosted over nearly a century.
“There is indeed much to remember, to mourn in the loss of this building,” she said.
But Kelly also spoke of what remained.
“We acknowledge the loss of this church and the end of one chapter in its history,” she said.
“We gather in hope that Your unfailing love will hold us and lead us to a new chapter.”
The congregation then moved to Asher Hall, just behind the damaged church. St Paul’s sold the hall to Bay Vineyard Church in July, with its new owners now offering it back as a temporary home.
About 70 people attended the service, where Reverend Mark Johnston described the move as “a coming home of sorts”.
Johnston said worship would continue at Asher Hall throughout November and into December.
The congregation was also updated on the condition of the damaged church.
The front half will require partial demolition, while parts of the rear section, including some pews, may be able to be salvaged.
The roof has been secured and access to damaged areas remains restricted as the church works through insurance and further assessments.
No decisions have yet been made about the long-term future of the site.
“It’s far too early,” Johnston said.
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“It is time to be a community, it’s time to be living with the reality of what’s happened, to feel it, acknowledge it, and support one another.”
During the service, video showing the church burning in the early hours of Monday was played, along with an image of the cross on the bell tower surrounded by flames and another showing a cross visible through the blackened sanctuary after the fire.
“In the midst of that fire, we see the cross on the bell tower lit up, standing and enduring in spite of the flames surrounding it,” Johnston said.
St Paul’s history stretches back 168 years.
Its original wooden church was destroyed by fire in 1929, while a replacement was lost following the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake and the fires that swept through Napier.
Johnston said previous generations had found a way to “rise from ashes and ruins, to rise into something new”.
There were tears and moments of laughter during the service as the congregation reflected on the past week.
They also spoke of messages received from around New Zealand and overseas, including from former members and others with connections to the church.
Johnston said the loss extended beyond the congregation.
“The fire is not only a loss to us as a community, as a church, as a congregation, but it is also a loss to the city.”
