Worship at the St Peter’s Spiritual Baptist Church in Vistabella has been cancelled indefinitely after heavy rains caused a retaining wall to collapse, spilling mounds of mud and debris into the prayer room. The worship hall was also in danger of collapse. rustrated church members Gregory Mc Ewen and Dennis Marchan went to the San Fernando City Corporation yesterday seeking urgent help. However, Mc Ewen said none of the city engineers or technical officers were available.
“We were told we would have to wait until Monday to get assistance, so we are praying that the rest of the church does not cave in,” Mc Ewen explained.
The wall fell on Friday night after four days of heavy rainfall. When the caretakers arrived yesterday morning, they saw mud flowing into the church from the broken wall. Mc Ewen explained that the beams were already showing signs of weakness. Officers of the Mon Repos Fire headquarters visited the scene and cordoned off the church at Lambie Street, Vistabella. They advised the diocese to suspend all activities in the church until further notice.
Head of the church Bishop Leon John, who is in Tobago attending a meeting, said the church was built in 1967. He said the church had a membership of over 100. “I have not yet seen the damage, but I have spoken to senior members of the Archdiocese and we will work together to see what could be done about this problem,” John said. When the Guardian visited, the retaining wall was leaning precariously onto the church and a chunk of the wall had crumbled.
Cleaner Shirley Smith said they were disheartened. “This church is an icon in San Fernando and what happened is really sad,” she said, as she tried sweeping away debris.
Anyone wanting to assist can contact Bishop John at 766-4848.