WAKEFIELD – With joyful hearts, a congregation in Wakefield, Massachusetts sang, prayed and celebrated the grand reopening of their church, six years after it was destroyed by a fire caused by a lightning strike.

Fire caused by lightning strike

In 2018, a massive fire ripped through the First Baptist Church on Lafayette Street after lightning struck the 180-foot steeple. But the devastation also sparked a new vision, purpose and call for the church.

“The new building is amazing,” said Associate Pastor Melinda Parry. “We are just so grateful to God and his faithfulness for bringing us to this point.”

Parry has been coming to the church since she was 7 years old. She was heartbroken to see it go up in flames.

“It was heart-wrenching,” said Parry. “It’s where I was baptized, it’s where I was married, my son was dedicated, my parents were buried.”

The original church, built in 1804, was much bigger and could seat more than 500 people. Pastor Douglass Dry said the building is a sign of new beginnings and a perfect fit for the needs of the congregation and the community.

New church very functional

“It’s very functional, built very multipurpose,” said Dry. “Even the fact that we did chairs instead of pews so that we can reconfigure for different groups or just for ourselves.”

It took six years to rebuild the church. Through prayer, faith and perseverance, members hope it brings new life to the community.

“A lot of people praying,” said parishioner Robert Jordan. “And it’s just a miracle that happened.” Jordan said the transformation is not only a blessing but a responsibility to serve others. “I am just thankful that we can reach out to the community. This church is for everybody in this town.”

BOSTON – During an interview on the Sunday edition of “Keller At Large,” Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Chrissy Lynch talked about the state of labor in Massachusetts. Lynch also discussed why the organization is backing Democrat Kamala Harris this November.

Protecting the Right to Organize Act

“It’s really hard to organize a union,” said Lynch, a South Shore native and veteran labor activist who’s been busy trying to change that for the past 11 months since stepping into her current role.

Lynch discussed the importance of passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a bill filed in Congress several years ago that establish and expand a range of protections of workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. 

“Corporations have figured out how to make it impossible for workers who want to join a union to join,” Lynch said. “The PRO Act would really level the playing field.”

Who is the Massachusetts AFL-CIO backing for president?

Lynch said the AFL-CIO’s top priority this election season is electing Democratic nominee Kamala Harris president, and she had a message for rank-and-file union members who are considering supporting Republican nominee Donald Trump. 

“I would ask them to please look at the issues, because that’s what we do. We don’t look at the personalities. We look at where do you stand?” Lynch said. “And on issue after issue, Donald Trump has a playbook to sew working class division to keep us fighting with each other over the crumbs. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz throughout their time in public office have consistently stood with working people, have consistently fought for and effectively passed laws to actually help working people to grow the middle class. And it’s very clear to me and to many of our leaders, when you look at the issues, who is with working people and who pays working people lip service.”

Should Massachusetts end MCAS requirement?

As for the Massachusetts ballot questions, Lynch said the labor group is “all in” supporting Question Two, which would end the state’s use of MCAS test passage as a graduation requirement.

“We hear from our educator members and unions that high stakes testing is bad for classrooms,” she says. “These classrooms are the working conditions of our educators, and they’re the learning conditions of our kids. I’ve got two kids in public schools. This is very personal to me, and when teachers see that students are struggling to learn the basics because they are stressing out, they are teaching to a test that’s not good for classrooms, that’s not good for kids.”

Geoffrey Noble has some major cleaning up to do at the Massachusetts State Police, but his resume has at least one longtime critic of the agency hopeful for a successful tenure.

Originally Published: September 8, 2024 at 4:31 a.m.