Arsonists struck the Micklefield Seventh-day Adventist Church in High Wycombe on Saturday, April 21. The resulting fire destroyed the children’s room at the back of the church and left the building temporarily unusable for worship. The fire was started in a trash bin located at the back of the building. The fire then broke through a window into the building. Staff at the next-door Community Center called the fire brigade at around 10:20 p.m. 

While the children’s room was badly damaged, the bulk of the building remains intact. Michael Anim, pastor of the church of about 90 members, hopes that the church can be reopened for worship within eight weeks. In the meantime church members are holding Sabbath worship services at the nearby Elim Pentecostal Church.

The Micklefield church has had a history of vandalism, including a previous arson attempt on the building when a car was torched near the back and the fire broke through the church’s windows. Pastor Anim said since that first act of vandalism the church has reinforced the windows with metal and wooden shutters.

The recent vandalism did not deter the Micklefield members from their witness. Sunday morning saw them praying outside the church.  Surveying the damage to their building, they joined hands and prayed for forgiveness and a change of heart for those involved in the attack. 

Pastor Anim told BUC News, “We would prefer for them to come inside and join us in worship than to be outside and attack us.”

Pastor Anim said he believes the fire was started by idle teenagers. “We’re seriously thinking of starting a Pathfinders club [for those young people],” he said. “I think if the young people in the community felt they belonged to the church they would not vandalize our property.”