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Oregon church plagued by arson looks to rebuild

The Columbian
Published: December 24, 2013, 4:00pm

ARLINGTON, Ore. — The Nazarene church building in the Columbia River town of Arlington was hit twice by arson fires this year, and now church leaders are calling for a spirit of forgiveness and for rebuilding.

The congregation was nearly finished with repairs from the first fire, in July, when the second fire broke out Nov. 12. It left the building a blackened heap of rubble.

Authorities have made no arrests. The first arson blaze was one of four suspicious fires in the community of about 600 people within weeks of each other.

The church was built in 1899 and was the oldest building in downtown Arlington. It was used by Baptists before the Church of the Nazarene bought it for $1 in 1921, the East Oregonian reported.

Sunday services are now held in the youth center, behind the church site.

“There’s a lot of fear in this town,” Pastor David Gossett said. “A lot of people want to see the person brought to justice just so they don’t have to live in that fear anymore.”

But, he said, forgiving “allows you not to dwell.”

“It’s letting off that weight of carrying around something that’s burdensome,” he said.

The congregation hopes to build again, Gossett said, but he doesn’t know how long that will take.

Gilliam County Sheriff Gary Bettencourt said investigators are disappointed not to have a suspect in custody, but he is confident information will turn up to break the case open.

“Somebody out there will do the right thing,” Bettencourt said. “It’s seldom something like this happens and someone else doesn’t know. The community is looking to us to find this person, but we can only use what evidence is presented, and there isn’t a lot at this point.”

Sunday school teacher Kari Keown says Arlington residents are sad about the loss, but the fellowship itself hasn’t missed a beat.

“We’re a small, close-knit church. We’re just grateful we have the youth center,” Keown said. “There’s always anger. But injured people want to injure. This is what God asks us to do, to pray for them.”

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