No ‘act of God’ claim over church lightning strike

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An Arbroath minister whose church was stuck by lightning will not have to make an “act of God” insurance claim.

The Rev Martin Fair was at St Andrew’s Parish Church on Tuesday when a torrential downpour started at 5pm.

Things took an ominous turn when two lightning strikes occurred above the Hamilton Green building, the second of which knocked out some of the electricity in the church.

The long-serving Arbroath minister said: “I was waiting for a couple to arrive for a service to mark their 30th wedding anniversary.

“I was conscious of the rain thrashing down but then we had two huge rumbles of thunder right over us accompanied by lightning.

“The first one happened when I was in the church and it sent a crackle through the air in the church but nothing untoward seemed to happen.

“There was another lightning crash and this time it hit the church and disabled some of our electrics.”

The strike meant the automatic doors at the front of the church stopped working, along with some lighting and power sockets.

An electrician was called immediately and the anniversary service went ahead as planned.

“There was no lasting damage, thankfully,” Mr Fair added.

“When the couple arrived, running to get out of the rain, they said the sun was shining when they got married and wondered what they had done to deserve it.

“It went ahead and it was a lovely occasion.”

He added: “One or two of my friends were trying to say it might have been an act of God and wondered if someone was trying to send me a message.

“Of course, I think if lightning happens and you try to claim on your insurance it goes down as an act of God but, as no insurance claim is required, I’m just putting it down as a meteorological phenomenon.

It sent a crackle through the air in the church

Picture: Kris Miller. The Rev Martin Fair, whose St Andrew’s Church in Arbroath was hit by lightning on Tuesday but did not suffer any permanent damage.