DOUGLAS, Ariz. (KGUN) — Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Douglas was one of the churches destroyed by Eric Ridenour in May of last year. For the past year, the church has been using what’s left to continue to serve its congregation.
The corner of 11th Street and D Avenue has been primarily a dirt lot since the arson. The St. Stephen's congregation still meets on the property near where the church once stood, in its 100-year-old parish hall.
“We are getting better and stronger after the experience people had here," said St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Vicar JJ Bernal.
The congregation has leaned on each other to move past losing their physical church, even though there are constant reminders of the arson.
“It’s getting better in terms of their experience after the fire," Bernal said. "It has been a year, and it has been a good year.”
The congregation has been using the parish hall for all its meetings, events, and services. This time last year they were working to bring the parish hall up to code and ADA compliance.
Now, they have their eyes on the future—and their next sanctuary.
“I would be happy if we just stayed here in this place, but the powers that be have declared that we're going to build a church,” said one member of St. Stephen's, Jacquie Phagan.
Bernal says the insurance is only playing to replace the buildings lost in the fire. That includes the sanctuary, the vicar's house and the classrooms that were part of the church's outreach building.
“We have to move forward," Phagan said. "We can't just stay here.”
Despite the renovations, the 100-year-old parish hall isn't a long-term solution, as they had previously thought. Bernal says the building isn’t energy efficient, costing them thousands in utilities alone. He says after the first few months, they knew they couldn't sustain the current costs.
“This (is) an opportunity to redo things, to rethink things, to reshape ourselves,” Bernal said.
The current plans include adding solar panels to the buildings and equipment for rainwater harvesting. The vicar says they plan to have more community space so they can bring resources to the community. They also plan to build a memorial garden in the middle of the property. Bernal says they recovered the ashes from seven of the church's founding members that will be placed in the garden.
Bernal and the congregation are focused on moving in one direction, and that's forward. Instead of dwelling on the past, building anew will help the church focus on helping its community.
“We want to say, yes, we were heated, yes, we were affected, but we are here," Bernal said. "Our hope, it was not affected.”
Since the fire, the congregation has started a community meal, every first Sunday of the month. The goal is to bring a sense of community back to their corner of D Avenue.
“I would like this church to be known for the service to people, for the service to the community for the needy," Bernal said. "We are the church who believes that we can do better.”
Bernal is hopeful construction will begin in the spring, but doesn't expect it to be complete until 2026.
MORE ON THIS STORY: KGUN 9's Craig Smith has an update on Eric Ridenour's upcoming sentencing for the arson:
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- US Attorney recommends Ridenour gets 39 years for church fires
- 'That's not what Douglas stands for, burning churches': Douglas is focused on moving past arson after verdict
- One year later: A look back at the fires that devastated two pieces of Douglas history
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
