MUNICIPALTY delegates, led by eThekwini acting mayor, Nomvuzo Shabalala, met with senior pastors of the Durban Christian Centre (Jesus Dome) on Wednesday, 8 June to offer their sympathies and support after a fire.
The visit was welcomed by senior pastor, John Torrens, who thanked Shabalala and the committee for taking the time to come to the church site and offer support in person.
The fire has affected the community, as scores of church members stood outside the gutted building in Buro Crescent, Mayville, staring at the remains in disbelief.
The Fire Department received a call at 5.39pm on Tuesday, 7 June and immediately dispatched four fire engines and a turntable ladder. Emergency services said the main auditorium of the church was fully engulfed in the blaze when fire-fighters began putting out the flames.
While the roof of the main auditorium collapsed, some offices and other structures in the vicinity were not engulfed by the raging flames. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Shabalala said they had come as city leaders to offer support during this difficult time. This included the use of the City Hall auditorium or the Durban Exhibition Centre to the church to host its Sunday service.
“This would be a temporary opportunity to allow your congregation to meet on Sunday. It would also give you time to regroup and plan ahead. This would not set a precedent to allow anyone to use these venues to hold a service as this is a unique situation. This is the first time a church of this size has been destroyed by fire in Durban and our sympathies are with you during this time,” she said.
Torrens welcomed the offer but said plans had already been made to host the Sunday service at the Growthpoint Kings Park Stadium. He thanked Shabalala and other city officials for their generous offer and support.
“Thank you for coming and taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with us. We really appreciate it. We are here to serve the city of Durban just as you are,” said Torrens.
He said the last staff members left at 4.30pm on Tuesday afternoon before the fire started. “We thank God that no one was hurt. We also have to thank the authorities, including the Fire Department and the police, who were on the scene and worked tirelessly. We are devastated and shocked at what has happened. But church is not about a building, it is about people, and we will come back from this bigger and stronger,” he told the delegation.
Torrens said foul play was not suspected. “We have no reason to believe this. The site is a crime scene at the moment with a forensic team on site investigating.”
He prayed with the executive committee after the brief visit and thanked each member again for the visit.
Pastor Torrens wrote on the church’s Facebook page: “Despite the devastation of watching the Jesus Dome auditorium burn down on Tuesday night, we have been overwhelmed by the love and kindness from the people of Durban and the hundreds of messages from South African and international pastors and friends.”
“We stand united in our faith to rise triumphantly from the ashes and see the Jesus Dome rebuilt,” he wrote.
He said their Christian faith teaches them that all things are possible and no matter how tough the obstacles, we shall overcome them.
“We thank God that no one was injured in the fire and the prayers and concern of so many people has been a heart-warming experience amidst the tragedy,” he wrote.
From Sunday, 19 June they will be having services every Sunday at the Jesus Dome premises at 8am and 10.30am in a tent that will be pitched in the car park.
