St. David’s Church, Topeka, Kan., will have to be torn down because of damage caused by a Nov. 10 arson fire. The congregation will celebrate Christmas at Temple Beth Shalom, a synagogue located about five blocks north of its parish home.

Although the flames were primarily confined to one wall and the wooden ceiling, temperatures that exceeded 1,000 degrees inside the nave weakened support in the roof and walls. The modern stained-glass windows inside the 45-year-old structure are not repairable. Neither are the metal pipes and organ which were specially made for the choir loft at the back of the church. Fire officials estimate damage to the building and its contents at $2.5 to $3 million.

The annual stewardship campaign went on as scheduled, with pledges showing an overall increase. Attendance is also up. Insurance should cover the cost of rebuilding, and the parish has received more than $70,000 in donations in response to a call from the Rt. Rev. Dean Wolfe, Bishop of Kansas. There is also hope that “Christus Rex,” a signature 15-foot-tall bronze and mosaic tile sculpture, can be repaired.

“It’s been like a death,” said Margaret Telthorst, senior warden, “but life goes on. We are in the life-going-on phase.”

Meanwhile, the search for the arsonist continues. Police took the unusual step of handing out fliers to motorists at the intersection where the gutted building stands.

“With the amount of traffic that goes through that intersection, someone might have seen something,” said James Vollintine, an investigator with the Topeka Fire Department. “We are following leads as they develop.”

The congregation has settled into a worship schedule that Ms. Telthorst said will last for the foreseeable future. The Wednesday evening healing service has relocated to nearby First Congregational Church, and the 5 p.m. Saturday service takes place in the chapel at Grace Cathedral. Sunday services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., with breakfast and education classes in between, are at Temple Beth Shalom.

Everything the congregation needs for worship has to brought over before each service, Ms. Telthorst said, but parishioners are beginning to establish a routine, aided by the return of familiar vestments and communion vessels from the company that had been cleaning them.

“The surroundings are different,” she said, “but there is the sense that this is St. David’s.”

Melodie Woerman

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