An outpouring of support for members of a Slavic church in Eagan after fire destroyed its sanctuary.
Fire tore through Grace Slavic Church Friday, destroying precious bibles and gifts meant for children in need.
"You know, we're trying to take it step-by-step to, you know, keep the people at least at peace that are of the body of church," said the church's Nikolay Afanasyev.
He says other churches have room for them to gather even on Christmas Eve. Their Candlelight service on Christmas Eve will take place at Living Word Lutheran Church in Eagan.
"So many people have been reaching out to help with the building, with clean up, and restaurants have contacted us to try to do fundraisers," says Afanasyev.
The congregation was given space for this past Sunday's service during the busy Christmas holiday. Afanasyev talked about the damage, including a bit of a miracle.
"The whole sanctuary, everything is just destroyed in there," Afanasyev adds. "I mean, craziest thing is though, the cross, the cross that was on stage where the fire started, that's still standing. And it was made out of wood."
Authorities say the fire was accidental, and had started among Christmas decorations on the church's stage.
More than $6,000 has been raised online to help in rebuilding the sanctuary.