Did lightning strike a Massachusetts church and burn it to the ground hours after it hosted a gay Pride event or same-sex wedding? No, that's not true: Both a representative of the First Congregational Church of Spencer, United Church of Christ and the city's fire chief say the assertion is not true.
The claim appeared in a post and video on Instagram published on June 9, 2023, under the title "A church in Massachusetts hosted a Pride event and hours later was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. God will not be mocked." The description for the post said:
The historical account of Sodom and Gomorrah can be found in Genesis 19. If you are not familiar with the story, these were two sinful cities that were destroyed by "sulfur and fire" because of their wickedness. Among other things, their primary sins were homosexuality and pride.
In many parts of scripture we see how God sees pride: He hates it.
"The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished." (Proverbs 16:5) (see more verses on Pride in one of my recent posts titled "9 Bible verses about Pride).
Satan fell and was cast out of heaven "like a bolt of lightning" (Luke 10:18) because of his pride!
So friends, to affirm and celebrate and participate in anything that God calls an "abomination" is partaking in sin against Him. Just because there are "churches" and "pastors" going along with the world on "Pride" does not mean it's the truth! For a "church of Christ" to partake in something He sees as an abomination is blasphemous and a mockery and leading many people astray.
2Peter chapter 2 is entirely about this! Please take a moment to read it.
Many want signs and wonders to believe... we should take this as a clear "sign". This is an exact picture of what scripture says will happen to the world upon judgement day.
Repent and Believe 🙏🏽
This place has since deleted all the pride posts they had on their Facebook, I pray it means they have repented. But let us be in prayer for them and our country 🙏🏽
This is what the post looked like on Instagram at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Wed Jun 14 16:30:08 2023 UTC)
A similar claim appeared in a post and video on Facebook (archived here), which was also published on June 9, 2023. The description in the post said:
Divine Wrath?
A 160-year-old church named First Congregational Church of Spencer in the U.S. state of Massachusetts was struck by lightning, caught fire and burned to ashes during a homosexual wedding on June 3. Some say it was divine anger over the church's acceptance of homosexuality.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Jun 15 15:26:02 2023 UTC)
It is true that the First Congregational Church of Spencer, United Church of Christ was struck by lightning and was destroyed on June 2, 2023, but the additional claims made in the social media posts are not true. A gay Pride event was not held at the church hours before the lightning hit. In addition, a same-sex wedding was not taking place there either.
In a June 15, 2023, email to Lead Stories a woman who identified herself as "Elizabeth, Administrative Assistant, First Congregational Church of Spencer, UCC," provided this response for the church:
There was not a same-sex marriage ceremony or a Pride event in or around the church. The only happenings in the building was the Thrift Shop [Economy Shop] and [it] was open from 9 AM - 1 PM.
In another June 15, 2023, email, Spencer Fire Department Chief Robert Parsons told Lead Stories, "Church was closed when struck by lightning."
