TULSA, Okla. — A historic midtown church is grateful that a recent fire did not destroy its church. Now, they are on the hunt to share the gratitude and need help finding the good Samaritan.
In March, Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church suffered major damage from an overnight electrical fire.
It is currently unusable as they work to fix the damage.
WATCH: SEARCHING FOR A GOOD SAMARITAN: How late-night hunger led to saving a church:
It is said a physical building isn’t needed to practice faith, but for Reverend Amy Venable’s congregation, this space is special.
“We’ve been here for 103 years,” she said. “We have a member of our congregation whose grandfather helped lay the foundation for this very building.”
Reverend Venable says the church’s Cherry Street location, near bars and restaurants, helps their mission of being welcoming to everyone.
However, they did not anticipate one man’s late-night cravings to be a savior in disguise.
“The reason the fire department got here so quickly was some guy had just gone through the Whataburger,” she said. “He was sitting in the drive-thru when he noticed smoke coming out of the roof.”
The man went over to the church to look for people inside, according to audio picked up on security camera video, but it was empty. He called 911. Venable was told that had that call been mere minutes later, the building would not have survived.
“It saved the church,” she said.
Venable does not know the man, but is on a mission to find him.
“We would love to know who made the call, because we would like to thank that person,” she said.
They want to thank him for caring, for not thinking ‘someone else will call,’ or prioritizing hunger.
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