Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Church members still counting blessings

CLOVIS — In the immediate aftermath of a disastrous fire Monday morning, members of Living Word Church of God said they are still counting their blessings.

“We might have felt a little discouraged (Monday), but we’re not discouraged today,” Associate Pastor Bonetta Hutson said Tuesday. “Just the fact that our community has reached out to us has been amazing.”

In addition to calls and texts sending well wishes, several other churches and public entities have already offered their spaces for Living Word members to continue their programming during the week and on Sundays, Hutson said.

The offers of help are so numerous that the church board will have to meet tonight to discuss their options and find a best solution, she added.

“We’re not going to lie down. We have a small congregation (of about 40), but we have a lot of ministries and do a lot of outreach.”

The church just east of Clovis sustained extensive internal damage from the fire that was reported around 10:15 a.m. Monday and extinguished about 45 minutes later.

“Fire was seen coming out of the front doors with heavy black smoke seen coming from all areas of the building,” said a Clovis Fire Department news release. “The construction of the building made extinguishment of the fire difficult.”

Per procedure for a church structure fire, investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were sent to “assist with a determination of the cause of the fire,” said a Curry County Sheriff news release.

Representatives Tuesday of the state Fire Marshal referred questions on that investigation to ATF.

An ATF representative said in an email Tuesday the two agencies were working together “in the cause and origin investigation of the church fire in Clovis,” but did not specify a timeline.

Hutson said Monday “we are 99 percent sure that it was an electrical fire.”

While the church building still stands, the front doors are destroyed and few items inside were spared.

Among the items recovered was a bass guitar used during worship, and church members are looking for other ways to stay positive.

“What can I say? I’m glad that it happened when it happened. If it had happened when we had a service this would have been a terrible disaster. All but one of our exits would have been blocked by the fire,” she said. “Our church is insured, and as one of our elders said, ‘It’s just stuff and it can be replaced.’”