Congregation evicted by fire finds temporary home

LYNN ?Since losing their Liberty Street church building to a fire last month, El Siloe?s congregation members have found a place to worship in a fellow Seventh-Day Adventist church?s basement on Breed Street.Pastor Abner Polynice said Iglesia Adventista del Septimo Dia de Lynn offered El Siloe temporary refuge in Septimo Dia, a former temple located off Lewis Street.?They were aware of the fire,” Polynice said.He said church members are looking for land or a building locally where they can open a new church or build one. Polynice said congregation members would like to find a permanent home in two to three months.?We are grateful for where we are now, but we need another place,” he said.The congregation worshipped in the 118-year-old Liberty Street church next to the Cobbet Hill apartments from 1998 until the early morning fire on May 22. State public safety officials said the fire?s cause remains under investigation.City officials are waiting for El Siloe to arrange for a contractor to remove the rubble pile that is all that remains of the church after it was declared an unsafe structure and demolished following the fire.City Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan said the rubble site is “hot” – meaning it has been placed under a city fire watch and contains contaminated material, including heating oil waste..Donovan said it is the congregation?s responsibility to have the rubble removed. He said the city has not declared the site a nuisance – yet: Cobbet Hill has more than 100 apartments and Liberty Street is a heavily trafficked local road. He did not know how much money the fire watch has cost the city.?It?s not going to be an inexpensive bill,” he said.Congregation member Marie Anne Jean-Louis said she is looking forward to worshipping in a new church. She said the Liberty Street building was insured.?I?m used to going into a church. I?m hoping we will find something soon we can all be happy with,” she said.Donovan said city zoning ordinances give the church up to a year to rebuild on Liberty Street if the congregation chooses that option.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].