Fire at Church Stuns Junction City Residents

JUNCTION CITY, Ohio — The dozen or so people who have been attending church services at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Junction City are left with a sense of grief after a fire ravaged their house of worship.

“I know from old photographs, when there were hardly any structures here, a few of the buildings, the church was one of them. Still had a strong parishoner … they just met Sunday for worship,” says Amy Nash English, Junction City Police Chief.

A 9-1-1 call was placed at 9:30 Tuesday morning that the church, at the corner of Mulberry and Walnut Streets, was on fire. Fire departments from Junction City, New Lexington, Somerset and Thornville responded, but most of the inside of the church is now a total loss.

Loss is something the parishoners are feeling now, though they intend to forge a path forward.

“We’re going to meet Sunday morning at 9am down at the community building, down here in the park. We’re going to hold our service down there. We’re going to start from there with the district superintendent and see what goes from there,” says Patsy Caldwell. She and her husband, Floyd, have been attending Sunday services at Good Shepherd for the better of forty years.

“To burn a church, they have to be a sick person,” Floyd Caldwell says.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help defray reconstruction costs.