MARSHALL, Texas — After hearing that their longstanding church burned down, the congregation of First Methodist Church in Marshall came together in prayer Monday morning.
Among those standing near the building, located at 300 E. Houston St. in Marshall, that once stood tall was Pastor David Luckert.
"The biggest loss is more of an emotional loss to our congregation," Luckert said.
The church was established in 1839, according to its website. It has undergone many renovations and changes over its 185 years in existence. The current building the congregation is housed in was constructed in 1861, according to Stephen F. Austin State University.
"The First Methodist Church is one of the few monumentally scaled Greek revival church architectures in Texas," SFASU states. "The building has been part of many historical events: ammunitions were stored within basement during Civil War and the first church bell was given to Confederacy and was replaced 1865 by one stolen from the Federal Army. The sanctuary was also a meeting place for the leaders of the south during the Civil War."
The church was given a Texas Historical Marker in 1965 and was placed on the National Register in 2006.
Luckert said as he watched the smoke pour into the sky, he started already thinking about how they can continue to help others even when they are in a time of need themselves.
"We’ve got a lot of plan A, but we had not put a plan B together and that will be throughout today and tomorrow. A lot of plan B will be going on for a lot of worship, Sunday school meetings, a lot of fellowship meetings, and a lot of outreach we want to do in our community," he said. "Our community has a lot of needs and we still need to be helping these people. And so if we can we’re going to somehow."
Hours after the first call regarding the fire, smoke and small flames could still be found with the remains of First Methodist Church Marshall and the walls that held more than a century of memories were crumbling.
However, the hope from Luckert and his congregation won't back down.
"Right now, I have no idea where we will be worshipping this Sunday, but we will be a worshipping fellowship of faith this Sunday and each Sunday," Luckert said.
Multiple surrounding fire departments responded to help, including West Harrison, Nesbitt, ESD 3 and the Longview Fire Department.
Sen. Bryan Hughes released the following statement regarding the fire:
"The First Methodist Church in downtown Marshall has been destroyed after a fire broke out early this morning. Our prayers are with Pastor David Luckert and his congregation during this difficult time."
Details are extremely limited, but CBS19 will update this article as more information becomes available.
DID YOU KNOW?
CBS19 is available live and on-demand on your favorite TV streaming device, anytime from anywhere in the U.S.
The free CBS19+ app for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and smart TV devices features a 24/7 stream with the latest from CBS19.
In addition to the live stream, watch the latest from CBS19 on-demand, along with additional programming from our partners at TEGNA (like Verify, "Murder at My Door" and "In the News") and Locked On Sports, plus special collections from CBS19 like Under the Lights, Hooked on East Texas and CBS19 Originals.
DOWNLOAD ON ROKU
Add the free CBS19 channel by searching for CBS19 East Texas News in the Roku Channel Store on your device, or add the CBS19+ Roku channel using this link.
DOWNLOAD ON FIRE TV
Search for the free CBS19+ app in the Amazon App Store directly on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, or add the CBS19+ Fire TV app using this link.
DOWNLOAD ON APPLE TV
Learn more about the free CBS19+ app in the Apple TV App Store and download directly from your Apple TV device.
DOWNLOAD ON YOUR SMART TV
The CBS19+ app is also now available directly on "smart" or "connected" televisions made by Samsung, LG and Philips, as well as televisions with Android TV. Search for CBS19 East Texas News in your television's app store to add CBS19+.
OTHER FREE WAYS TO WATCH
The CBS19+ 24/7 stream can be viewed on any desktop or mobile web browser anytime on the Watch page here on cbs19.tv.