‘This church will rise again’: Easter services held for Burlington County church destroyed by fire

Russ Hodgins, lead pastor of the burned-out Fountain of Life Center church in Florence Township, Burlington County, paced as he preached an animated Easter sermon in a church-school gymnasium yards from the charred building on Sunday.

He paused to hold up a wooden crown of thorns.

A prop in church productions meant to represent what Christians believe had been placed on Jesus’ head before his crucifixion, the crown had been inside the church when the sanctuary was destroyed in an eight-alarm blaze on March 20. No fatalities or injuries were reported.

“Men clearing the rubble found this,” Hodgins said. “Somehow, it survived a fire that burned at 3,000 degrees.”

He raised the crown into a shaft of morning sunlight that warmed his makeshift pulpit on a basketball court.

“Fires,” he told 750 members of his now thunderously applauding congregation, “fires cannot stop the message of Jesus’ love.”

Addressing his flock on what fellow Pastor Ruben Ramos referred to as “the Super Bowl Sunday for Christianity,” Hodgkins asked, “Who would have thought three weeks ago that today would be possible?”

Explaining that the Christian Assemblies of God church can go on even without its main sanctuary, Hodgkins added, “You don’t need stained glass. You don’t need steeples.”

The fire, whose origin is still unknown, took nearly 200 firefighters to contain. There had been people inside the church when the fire started, but they all escaped, Ramos said.

“We’re thanking God not one church person or firefighter was hurt,” said Pastor Matt Boudwin, headmaster of the church school. “Still, everything in the church was decimated.”

During Easter services, along with the unburned crown of thorns, church leaders were pointing to another “miracle” of the blaze:

A 15-foot steel cross that had stood atop the church steeple and crashed 75 feet into a central part of the church during the fire, remaining intact.

The pastors and several other people carried the cross to a spot near the Life Center parking lot, where it’s been welded in place.

“Moving that cross, which was more powerful than the fire, was very impactful for me,” Ramos said.

“Even in the midst of ashes and rubble, the cross still stood. It’s an echo of Jesus’ resurrection that we celebrate today: He was temporarily fallen, and then he rose.”

Throughout the morning, members of the congregation swayed, raised their arms, and sang along with a five-piece band. Lyrics and Bible verses were flashed on a screen above the musicians.

After waiting to return to their church campus to worship, the members said they felt like Easter had turned into a homecoming.

“I feel wonderful to be back,” said Faith Rogers, 55, a nursing home office manager from Florence.

“We will rebuild. In the meantime, God gives us what we need. We can go on because of our faith.”

Brianna Smith, 31, of Hamilton, the project manager of a fleet leasing company, said that she felt “devastated” by the fire.

But, she added, “It’s important we all come on to the Life Center campus to stay connected to our community.”

Joan Huber, 78, of Burlington Township, agreed, adding, “For us, God is bigger than all the things that have happened here. There’s strong love among us.

“And this church will rise again.”