| Storm damages historic church By Melissa Lauber
UMCONNECTION STAFF Lightning struck and damaged the roof of the historic Holly Run Methodist Church when a storm swept through the region July 7. The church building, which serves as a chapel for the adjacent Linthicum Heights UMC, dates back to 1822. Many years ago, the congregation dismantled Holly Run, numbered each brick and beam, and moved it from its original site at Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard and Camp Meade Road to School Lane in Linthicum Heights. The church, reported to be one of the first Methodist Protestant buildings in America, was abandoned because of its poor location and rebuilt at its current location in 1966. Today the congregation uses the historic building, which seats about 60 people, for special occasions. When the lighting struck, fire broke out, but the church was saved by 52 Anne Arundel County fire fighters who responded to the alarm. 
Rev. David Shank | The Rev. David Shank, pastor of the 1,100-member church, praised the work of the firefighters. Shank heard the lightning strike, ran outside and discovered flames shooting out of the roof. Moments later, the fire trucks began to arrive, he said. The firefighters, who contained the blaze in less than a half hour, took special care with the building, carrying out the historic Bible from the pulpit and covering the organ so that it wouldnt get damaged, Shank said. The churchs trustees believe that insurance will handle costs for the necessary repairs. However, the congregation is troubled by the destruction of the frescoed ceiling, damaged by smoke and water. The ceiling was painted by a Baltimore artist, who, according to church members, spent months prone on a scaffold in the late 1970s painting the star-studded sky and dove over the pulpit. The artist read about the fire in the newspaper and has contacted the church about restoring the fresco. While they mourn the damage, Shank and the congregation report they are thankful to God that things were not worse. 'When we think about what could have been, we are grateful,' he said. On July 12, another storm swept through the region, touching down north of Baltimore, when five to 10 inches of rain fell in three hours. According to the Baltimore Sun, in Havre de Grace officials measured 10.25 inches of rain between 7 a.m. and midnight, making it a '100-year storm event.' The Rev. Jim Miller, the Baltimore-Washington Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, checked with officials in the area and determined that there was no immediate need for United Methodist relief efforts. The Rev. Jack Bussard, Baltimore-Harford District Disaster Response Coordinator, reported that materials from flood buckets were available for immediate release if the need arose. According to the Rev. Edward Heydt, pastor of Havre de Grace UMC, the church was not affected by the flooding and he was unaware of any church members 'under duress' from the flood. Church members are keeping their eyes and ears open for needs in the community, Heydt said. | 
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