So why is Salem meeting at the Ashland High School?
Because we don't have a church home at the moment. On the evening of Saturday, October 31st, 2015 an arsonist chose to set fire to our 32 year old building. By God's grace no one was in the building at the time and no one was injured as a result of the fire. The building, though, was a complete loss.
The church held a worship service the next morning across the street from the still smouldering rubble of the church building. In the days and weeks after the fire, the community of Ashland, its school district, and its churches have reached out to us in overwhelming and much appreciated ways. The ministries of Salem have barely missed a beat, most of them continuing as normal but in new locations around the city of Ashland. In a show of solidarity, Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church opened its doors for a community worship service of encouragement in November and then opened the upper floor of its DaPadua Building to house Salem's temporary offices.
Plans to rebuild are already in the works. The process is slow and involved but by God's grace a new, much improved facility will one day open to serve the Salem congregation and the community of Ashland. Salem's heartbeat - to see people transformed into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ - remains unchanged. We give praise to God for His provision and help during these days and look forward to seeing all that He will do in the days and months ahead.
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