Cars lined Main Bayview Road on Sunday as the congregation of the First Universalist Church of Southold gathered at their temporary home, the Custer Observatory, where they have been meeting since a tragic fire destroyed their historic church a week ago.
Inside the church, members hugged one another and listened, some with tears, as Rev. Jeff Gamblee offered words of committal for the beloved church that has meant so much not just to the congregation, but to the entire Southold community.
His voice breaking, Gamblee said farewell to the beautiful “building on the bend. Rest in peace.”
But along with the tears, there were moments of hope and thoughts of the future. The community has come forward to embrace the congregation: The Jamesport Meeting House has offered space for meetings or services; donations of hymnals and a chalice have also been received.
With spring in the air, the congregation was abuzz with plans to move forward: Committees are being formed to handle the aftermath of the fire, in areas such as insurance and safety. A fence was erected to keep the property safe from curious schoolchildren and onlookers; only a few have the key.
Trustee Dan Durett said in the weeks to come, each service will be followed by an informal chat, to keep the congregation apprised of plans not only to rebuild, but to get through the first steps together after the tragedy all have faced, as all congregation continues to mourn.
“Take all the time you need to grieve,” said Rev. Charles Dieterich, a member of the Universalist Church’s trauma team who came to give a sermon yesterday on “When a Congregation Suffers Trauma.”
Dieterich said when faced with the unthinkable, people need others to be there, to hold them and to comfort. The morning’s responsive reading, “We Need One Another,” reaffirmed this message.
The church, Gamblee reminded, is not in a building, but in the men and women who comprise the congregation.
And together, the congregation discussed preliminary plans to rebuild.
“Nothing is set in stone,” Durett said, adding that it’s too soon to begin mapping out plans for reconstruction. The first steps must be taken to recover from the fire and commence with a preliminary demolition, he said. Down the line, trustees will discuss a timeline, as well as various scenarios for the new church, and where it will be sited on the parcel, bringing those ideas to the congregation for discussion.
“That’s very important. We’re a deliberative body. And we’ll need much discussion before we take action,” he said.
After the service, the church members gathered for coffee and conversation community, just as they have so many Sundays before.
Normalcy, Durett said, is important; the church service followed its regular format. Durett said as he listened to the familiar words, he could almost feel himself back in the church, sun streaming through the beautiful windows.
“We need one another when we mourn and would be comforted. . . We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose, and cannot do it alone,” the congregation said, reading the words of George E. Odell aloud. “All our lives we are in need, and others are in need of us.”
