Congregations smaller after Fort McMurray wildfire but faith remains strong
‘No matter what happens in your life ... you have to overcome that through patience and perseverance’
When Pastor Marlon Alexander and his wife Cheryl returned to Fort McMurray after a month-long evacuation, all that was left of their church was ash and piles of twisted corrugated metal sheets.
"It was heartbreaking. It's just walls and brick but there's still a lot of memories," Marlon Alexander said in an interview as the fire's first anniversary approached.
The Alexanders, arm in arm, spoke outside a paved gravel lot that was once the Tabernacle of Praise church in the Waterways neighbourhood. The church was destroyed in the May 2016 wildfire.
"We knew it was gone. But physically and emotionally we had to come down here and see it was gone," Cheryl Alexander said. "We took a moment of silence just to take it in."
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These days, Tabernacle of Praise services are held in a high school gym while a new church building is under construction. The once 100-strong congregation is now between 45 and 80 members.
Other faith communities have also seen congregation declines after the wildfire, but religious leaders have seen a resurgence in faith among members who remain.
Hanging on ... then the wildfire hit
Pastors for Fort McMurray's two Roman Catholic parishes said their church attendance has declined by 15 per cent.
"I think the wildfire was a big part of it because people were losing their jobs before the wildfire due to low oil prices," Father Andrew Schoenberger said. "And then some of them were hanging on and then the wildfire hit and they were like, 'Why are we going back?' "
The Catholic diocese has paused the construction of a third church because it doesn't expect a boom in the pews like it's seen in previous years.
But among those who have not left, Schoenberger and fellow pastor Father Prabhakar Reddy said they've seen a deeper hunger for spiritual meaning since the wildfire, even in themselves.
Witnessing their parishioners lose their homes and living with them in uncertainty during the evacuation left them evaluating their ministries.
Reddy said he's now more concerned with his parishioners' financial realities. Since the wildfire he has spent more time listening to parishioners as they rebuild their homes and negotiate difficult insurance claims.
"For me it was big change," Reddy said. "Now I see a different door opening. Just to listen to them and be with them and to know their pain."
'Patience and perseverance'
Fort McMurray's Islamic centre has seen many members leave. But numbers have been replenished somewhat by people who have found jobs in Fort McMurray and are moving to the community.
Imam Abdurrahmann Murad said the Islamic community still has to rent extra space for Friday prayers to accommodate 800 to 1000 people.
Like people of other faiths, some Fort McMurray Muslims have experienced difficulties coping with the economic downturn and rebuilding their homes destroyed by the wildfire.
Murad said some have sought religious counselling. He has advised a few people to seek clinical help to deal with depression and other mental illnesses.
The imam also makes it a point to address the suffering many have experienced whenever he preaches.
"What we teach over here is that no matter what happens in your life, it is something that God has decreed and you have to overcome that through patience and perseverance."
'The brink of suicide'
JD Hunter can relate to believers who are coping with depression.
Hunter is the peppy afternoon host at 91.1 The Bridge, a station that plays a mixture of Christian and contemporary music.
Hunter smiles just as much on air and off air. But in the months after the wildfire, his smile disguised the dark depression he fell into after seeing many close friends lose their homes after the wildfire.
Hunter's depression was made worse because he couldn't justify complaining or reaching out for help when he didn't lose his home.
"I wanted to make sure people were doing OK before I was," Hunter said.
The depression was deep enough he contemplated suicide.
But support from friends in the church and pastors helped him realize it was OK to reach out for help.
"I shared with the church what I went through being at the brink of suicide and then coming back," Hunter said. "I had several people come up to me and say that was right where they were at."
Fort McMurray's churches and mosque might not have the power of a government or an insurance company but many religious leaders see themselves playing a vital role in supporting and encouraging the city's rebuild.
At Tabernacle of Praise, the pastor is confident that just rebuilding the church in the heart of the fire-ravaged community will encourage others.
"I believe once people do see the building going on," Alexander said, "it will maybe give them a new outlook. A hope."
The church is fundraising for its rebuild and expects to reopen in spring 2018.
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