Sunday, April 18, 1999

New bonds forged among worshipers

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BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sydney Wallis, with her 15-month-old son Noah on her back, works with her daughter Hadley, 9, on the grounds of the Montgomery Comuunity Baptist Church. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        SYMMES TOWNSHIP — Montgomery Community Baptist Church is in perfect condition — better than ever, actually. Damage to the building that housed it, however, is a testament to a tornado's power.

        The preliminary damage estimate is $2 million, but even amid the debris of a collapsed roof, good news continues to emerge. The Ohav Shalom synagogue in Sycamore Township has offered its home for Sunday Baptist services.

        And with that, the latest in an endless series of bonds has been formed.

        It is a bond that Montgomery Baptist pastor Tom Lipsey now considers lifelong, and one that will continue to branch out throughout the community.

        “What a wonderful gesture of God's kindness,” Pastor Lipsey said of Rabbi Robin Flicker's offer. “I think we're experiencing a oneness.”

        The nearby Montgomery Assembly of God Church also contributed, sending over lunch each day last week to staff members and cleanup crews at Montgomery Baptist.

        The lunches have been a respite from the rubble. The roof was torn from an addition the church built in 1994 for $1.5 million. Insurance will cover 98 percent, Pastor Lipsey said.

        The addition was home to the church's preschool, which served 250 children, and an activity center. The church has 1,400 members, of which about 750 typically attend a Sunday service.

        The tornado blew out windows and damaged the sanctuary, making it unusable for about a month. But throughout the week's parade of structural engineers and insurance assessors, Debbie Fairhead, church administrative assistant and children's choir director, has kept perspective.

        “It's just a building,” she said as she circled the grounds. She calls the walks her mental-health breaks, a chance to collect her emotions. In 1989, she and her husband and two kids, then ages 4 and 2, were living in the San Jose, Calif., suburb of Cupertino when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck, killing 67.

        The outpouring in Cincinnati this week, however, has at times overwhelmed her.

        “We've really had a wake-up call in terms of other churches in the area,” she said. “We just want to thank God.”

       

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