COMFORT AND HOPE
Community comes together: Hundreds attend prayer vigil for blast victims Assessing the damage: As many as 10 homes may be uninhabitable
“You watch a Hollywood movie and you say ‘wow, look at those effects, those explosions’,” said the Rev. Justin Valentine.
“You watch the news about some disaster in some faraway place about people you’ve never met before,” said Valentine, who is the pastor of Kingdom Life Church in Pottstown and son of former mayor Sharon Thomas.
“You watch the news about something that happens not too far away, and you think ‘wow, that really hit close to home,’” he said standing in the late evening sunlight blanketing the parking lot of Pottstown High School.
“And then there is the time it hits home, literally,” said Valentine, whose mother’s home was severely damaged by the Hale Street home explosion that rocked the “Chicken Hill” section of town Thursday which killed five, including four children, and severely damaged at least 10 homes.
“Our community,” Valentine said simply, “is hurting.”
As it has so many times before, that community came together once more Sunday evening for a prayer vigil to share their grief, their memories and their laments; to search for solace in the company of others who shared their pain, and others who wanted, most of all, to help.
“I am proud to be a Pottstownian today,” said the Rev. Darrel Brown, Pottstown native and pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Paoli. “Thursday night I watched Pottstown respond to this disaster, and now today, everyone of us here to show love and support.”
“We’re thankful for our first responders who showed up to a devastating scene, giving help, care and order to those who were disoriented “said the Rev. Nichole Jackson, pastor of Open Table United Church of Christ.
“Tragedy hit us at home Thursday, with homes completely destroyed or suffering terrible damage,” she said. “We’re not here to solve anything. We’re not here to fix this because we can’t. We’re here to do the two things you can do in the face of chaos, gather together to support one another, and to pray.”
The Rev. Dr. Marcia Bailey, pastor at First Baptist Church, read the names of the victims — Francine White, 67; Alana Wood, 13; Jeremiah White, 12; Nehemiah White, 10, and Tristan White, 8, and Eugene White, 44, and Kristina Matuzsan, 32 who are still hospitalized.
As each name was read, David Charles, who heads the STRIVE Initiative which mentors students at Pottstown Middle School attended by several of the young victims, lit a candle.
The crowd grew quiet as violin
ist Margaret Lerch played a mournful version of “Amazing Grace,” the words absent from the speakers but eachoing in the listeners’ inner ears.
She was followed by state Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-146th Dist., who sang and was accompanied on keyboards by former Pottstown and Owen J. Roberts schools administrator Myra Forrest. Subsequently, vocalist Lisa Hoffman and guitarist Alan Brucher, from Branch Life Church, also performed.
In addition to the dead and injured, at least 10 other families have been displaced by the explosion whose cause, as of Sunday, had yet to be determined.
And it is not just those who died, or whose homes were damaged that are affected.
Aiden Coles, 11, Coney Brown, 11 and Staten Brown, 12, knew and went to school with Jeremiah White and Alan Wood. At a loss for words on Sunday, they expressed their grief and confusion by providing picture boards of the victims.
Steadfast throughout the comforting words and music, it was the photos of lost loved ones that provided the catalyst for the torrent of tears among family members that had been held back until then.
“Lord we come to you asking that you could provide hope, we ask that you provide healing. Do what you said you would do best, send your holy spirit because your holy spirit will comfort those who mourn,” Valentine prayed. “So every
broken heart, every grieving heart, every heart that mourns, every heart that is heavy laden and burdened down today.”
“And all these young people here, pray that they know that there is real hope, and real healing in you. I pray God that this community that has seen better days, begins to realize that its greatest days are yet ahead and that new things are springing forth and great things are to come,” Valentine prayed.
But it may be a while before residents of the “Chicken Hill” neighborhood are ready to accept Valentine’s words on faith.
In addition to those who lost their lives, at least 10 families may well have lost their homes. Structural damage from the force of the blast is still being assessed, but already several homes have been marked by authorities as being unsafe for occupancy.
Two funds have been set up to help those victims. One is through the TriCounty Network. Donations to build on that may be made online at tcnetwork. org/donate-pottstown-explosion-fund. Checks may be mailed to TriCounty Community Network’s office at 724 N. Adams Street, No. 203, Pottstown, PA 19464, with Pottstown Explosion Support Fund in the memo line.
The other is through the Foundation for Pottstown Education and will go directly to the families. If you wish to contribute, go to https://foundationpottstowned.org/donate/ and in the notes section, you can indicate your support for families affected by writing “Pottstown 526 Emergency Fund.”