Editor’s Note: Christine Behnke is the director of Parish Education at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church U.A.C. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has been a member of the congregation since 1990 and on staff since 2002. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. View more opinion on CNN.
On Monday, April 15, 2019, I got a text.
“Hey you see the news? Notre Dame in Paris is on fire. Reminded me your church.”
My own church, historic Trinity Lutheran in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, caught fire on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. On Monday, as I stared at the screen showing Notre Dame in flames, I had a sense of deja vu.
Just as in 2018, watching my church burn, my eyes blurred with tears and my heart ached for the devastation of a beautiful structure, for the mourning members of the congregation, and for the loss of the city-wide community.
Two raging fires. Two magnificent buildings. Two symbols of Christian faith. Two churches thousands of miles apart, yet at that moment connected in tragedy.
I remember the last time I was in Paris in 2009. My husband and I took a leisurely stroll through Notre Dame, taking in all the beauty and history. The stained-glass windows took my breath away. The height of the ceiling was astounding. As I sat in a pew, I wondered how many thousands of people had sat here before me taking in this incredible view.
Now I wonder how many thousands of people are standing outside the cathedral or sitting in a cafe, recalling the last time they were seated in one of those pews.
Sharing memories and photos has been helpful during our months of grieving at Trinity. So many baptisms, so many weddings and so many holidays celebrated. Perhaps the congregation of Notre Dame will do the same in the months to come.
After the initial shock of the church fire at Trinity, the immediate concern was: Where do we worship on Sunday? We had four days to find a temporary location and spread the word. I imagine the church leaders at Notre Dame are contemplating the same question right now.
This is Holy Week in the Christian church, which culminates with Easter services on Sunday.
That first post-fire worship service in 2018 was important for our congregation members and the Milwaukee community as well. We hugged, cried, sang and prayed. We received heartfelt wishes from other churches and city leaders. This was our first step in the healing process. We knew that God would provide and out of the ashes we would rise.
The months that followed the Trinity fire were filled with ups and downs. Some days it felt like one step forward, two steps back. No doubt Notre Dame’s clergy, staff and members will have their ups and downs, too. How sad that the relics in the steeple were lost. Thank God no one was injured. How dreadful to see the ruins. Thank God the organ was saved.
Those who walk by the cathedral on their way to work will have a daily reminder of the events of April 15. Even neighborhoods further away probably can still smell the acrid smoke.
We are approaching one year since our church burned. It has been a year of pain and grieving as well as progress and joy. It is still hard to look up where the south steeple once soared and not feel a pang of sorrow. I still feel crushed when I think about the water damage to the magnificent wood carving for which the Victorian Gothic building was well noted. (How did they make all of that in 1878 without modern tools?)
After watching a news report about Notre Dame Monday, I went and stood in Trinity’s dark, damp, scarred sanctuary. I smiled as I surveyed the progress of the last year. All the ash has been removed, scaffolding erected and a temporary roof covers the nave.
Outside, the cream city brick walls have been reinforced and all the charred roof beams removed. Even during Wisconsin’s cold winter, the construction crew continued work in preparation for the new steel roof beams to be installed next month.
We really are rising from the ashes!