The sanctuary at Royse City Methodist Church, which was 120 years old, was destroyed in a fire presumed to be caused by lightning on Tuesday.
Firefighters from four departments battled flames at the church, located in the 300 block of Josephine Street, and while they couldn't save the sanctuary, they saved two other buildings on the church's property.
"There's another building that's kind of connected by a breezeway and they were able to stop the fire before it bit the breezeway," Pastor Christopher Everson said. "If it would've hit the breezeway, all three buildings that we had on that part of the campus would've been gone."
In the sanctuary was a book as old as the church, known as the Book of Golden Memories. It included the names of church members who died over the years.
"A neighbor whose family helped build the church a long ago saw that the roof was on fire," Everson said. "He ran in and was able to grab those ancient books."
Everson said the sanctuary will be rebuilt, though it will never be the same. The building hosting weddings, funerals, Christmases, and Easters is gone, but the Book of Golden Memories will remain an irreplaceable record.
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