KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 135-year-old church in Odessa, Missouri, that was destroyed by a fire early Thursday will still hold a worship service this weekend, calling it a "homecoming" for former and current members of the congregation.
“As most everyone and the community now knows, we lost our Woods Chapel home last night,” the Woods Chapel United Methodist Church said on Facebook Thursday evening. “After much discussion, we would like to continue and have our normal church worship service this Sunday in the church parking lot.”
The church invited anyone who has attended Woods Chapel in the past to join the congregation on Sunday and “share your stories and memories.”
“We would like to think of this as a small homecoming for the church we have loved for 135 years,” the church said on Facebook.
The service will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday. The church recommended people to bring their own chairs and blankets, as well as coffee or doughnuts.
Firefighters responded to the blaze at the church around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. The fire was fully involved by the time the first responders arrived.
No one was inside the church at the time. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
