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St. edward's church in fairfield damaged in june 27 fire

Story by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

The timing couldn’t have been worse — but when would be a good time — for a fire that began sometime the afternoon of June 27 at St. Edward Church in Fairfield.

The church celebrated its 125th anniversary last year.
Parish secretary, Fran Cavanaugh saw smoke coming from the roof of the church and called firefighters to the scene.

Church property was moved to the parish center and was not damaged, but the roof will need to be repaired and smoke and water damage will need to be addressed in the building.

That weekend, a funeral was to be celebrated June 28 as well as an evening liturgy and a farewell party for the parish pastor, Father Henry Ray Engelhart, who retired July 8.

New administrator of the parish, Father Michael Mbonu was scheduled to arrive July 8 and will now be handling repairs to the church.

The bishop asked Father Engelhart to remain at the parish until July 14 to help introduce Father Mbonu to parishioners, Cavanaugh said.

The parish expressed gratitude to the Community of Christ Church that permitted St. Edward’s the use of its facilities for the funeral dinner and the pastor’s retirement party the next day.

Cleaning crews were at the church during the first week of July, and Cavanaugh said it appears damage was more extensive than they thought at first. “We’re waiting to see if the floor will buckle after all the water damage,” she said.
However, in spite of the damage to the building, Cavanaugh said the outpouring of support from the community has been “great. It’s been real community spirit,” she said.

The church seats about 150 people, and the parish has 90 active families.