St. John's Episcopal Church to host St. Stephen's congregation following fire

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pastor Caleb Collins is slowly moving forward after Monday’s fire burnt most of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

He and his congregation from Douglas will conduct their first service since the arson at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bisbee on Sunday morning.

“It does help since the two churches work together very closely it still gives the sense of home away from home,” Collins said. “In here this Sunday will be a sense of unity, community and also safety for our members.”

St. Stephen's has been a part of the Douglas community for more than 100 years so the congregations wanted to be together during this difficult time.

“This Sunday is about showering love on the people that lost their church home,” Collins said.

The pastor leads both episcopal churches and said the Bisbee congregation was quick to offer support a resources to help him and the Douglas community.

Collins wants Sunday’s sermon for to be uplifting and positive to show there’s a new beginning on the horizon for St. Stephen's.

“Part of the message for this Sunday is that we’re experiencing a rebirth out of the ashes,” Collins said. “Sort of like a phoenix out of the ashes. And that although fire destroyed our building, the people were not burnt.”

He noted that the congregation can have some sense of hope because the people are the church and just because the building was damaged, none of the church members were harmed.

Sunday’s service in Bisbee starts at 11:30 a.m. Collins expects members of both congregations to attend and invites anyone who wants to offer support to the Douglas community to join them.

Collins and the Douglas congregation have not determined where they will continue to have their services, but other local churches have offered to share their space with them.

“I want to make sure our congregants decides on a location that will feel like as much like home as possible to give us a sense of stability and safety,” Collins said.