Oconomowoc -

Yesterday morning, members of First Baptist Church in Oconomowoc gathered together at the Oconomowoc Public Library, where they worshiped and gave thanks.

The old church bell was replaced with a hand bell, but the bell still rang and with that, the service began.  Rev. Sam Brink thanked members of the community for their support.

"We cannot express the support we have felt from the community," said Brink.  "We know that you care.  We want to say thank you to the community as a whole."

Members were thankful that no lives were lost in last Wednesday's explosion and said they had a lot to be thankful for.

See full story tomorrow in the Oconomowoc Focus.

City of Oconomowoc-  The small, tight-knit congregation of First Baptist Church in Oconomowoc will meet for service Sunday morning at 10 a.m. in a meeting room at Oconomowoc Public Library, 200 South Street.

"The community has been so supportive, we could almost literally meet in any church. They have all opened their doors," said Rev. Sam Brink, transitional pastor at First Baptist Church. "We picked the library because of its closeness to the old building; it sits kitty corner to the church," Brink said.

The pastor said that when members of the church gathered together for a meeting yesterday, he sensed a spirit of renewal.

“There’s a real sense of new opportunity. Where do we go from here? The things I shared with them is that the thing to keep in your mind and heart is that the church will go on. The building – that we don’t know about. But the church is not closing. They are very committed about keeping the ministry alive. They want to continue to be a viable presence in the community,” the pastor said.

Oconomowoc- At least one person was taken from the scene by ambulance after the First Baptist Church, at 301 W. Wisconsin Avenue exploded shortly before 1:30p.m. Wednesday afternoon, after construction crews working on the Wisconsin Avenue reconstruction project struck a gas line.

The man is thought to be one of the construction crew members.

The collapsed church was engulfed in flames only minutes following the the explosion and moments later the blaze spread to two houses to the west and south of the church.

The Oconomowc Fire Department, the Ixonia Fire and EMS, and the City of Delafield Fire Resucue were all on the scene.

The bell tower remained standing after the explosion but caught flame shortly after as well.

The area surrounding the church was overtaken by strong natural gas fumes immediatly following the explosion.