- Fires damaged Latter-day Saint meetinghouses in New Zealand and New Caledonia Sunday.
- Both incidents left significant damage but no injuries; investigations are ongoing.
- Local leaders are arranging alternative worship services and supporting members affected.
TE HAUKE, New Zealand — Two meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand and New Caledonia sustained damages after fires broke out in both buildings on Sunday.
Church officials said a fire sparked at a chapel in the town of Te Hauke, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand, early Sunday morning.
Firefighters were able to knock the fire down, and no one was injured — but it left the meetinghouse with significant damage, according to the release.
"Local congregation leaders and members are devastated that their meetinghouse has been damaged but are making alternative arrangements for worship services," the release reads.
Later, on Sunday evening, flames sparked at another church meetinghouse — in Mont-Dore, New Caledonia. Again, no injuries were reported, but that chapel was also significantly damaged. Fire officials are investigating what caused the fires.
Local church leaders in New Caledonia are not only supporting authorities in their investigations but also in comforting the church members, the release states.
Elder Peter F. Meurs, Pacific Area president, offered words of hope by saying, "Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joyfully worship in meetinghouses across the Pacific and the world, deepening faith in Jesus Christ, fellowshipping with others, and organizing service to communities in which they live. These sacred spaces are places of gathering, singing, praying, and inspiration for over 600,000 members of the church in the Pacific Area."
The most recent incidents mark the third and fourth meetinghouses to be hit by a fire in recent weeks.
A Latter-day Saint meetinghouse was destroyed last Monday, Oct. 6, in Australia, local outlet 9 News reported. The cause of that fire has not been reported.
The week prior, on Sept. 28, a gunman drove his truck into a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Grand Blanc, Michigan, where he shot and killed four people, then set the building on fire, before he was shot and killed by police.
Congregation leaders in New Zealand and New Caledonia are working to ensure church services continue in their communities, the church said in its release.
