Episcopalians on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota are grieving the destruction of a historic church, which was leveled Oct. 28 by a fire that now is the focus of a criminal investigation.
Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Parmelee, which dates to 1890, was reduced to a smoldering foundation by the morning fire. No one was injured, and arson is suspected, according to South Dakota Bishop Jonathan Folts.
The fire “is devastating news for the parishioners of Holy Innocents, for all members of the Rosebud [Episcopal] Mission, and for all of us as a diocese, and we are in mourning at this time,” Folts said in a written statement on the day of the fire. “I ask you all to please keep all of Holy Innocents in your prayers. This is a tragic day of loss that is being felt far and wide.”
Folts traveled to Parmalee to pray with residents on Oct. 30 along with the Rev. Lauren Stanley, canon to the ordinary. Stanley has been posting additional updates to Facebook, and others in the Rosebud Sioux community have responded online with shock at the news.
“That little beautiful church can never be replaced,” Prairie Rose Chapin said in a Facebook post reacting to the fire. “There is so much history with all our families that were made there, weddings, baptisms, gatherings, wakes and funerals, celebration, birthdays and memorials.”
Another, Caŋté Húŋkešni Wí, posted in anguish after seeing the destruction in person: “Our family has many precious memories tied to Holly Innocents Church.”
The church was established in 1890, when the area was a ration station for the Sicangu, the ancestors of today’s Rosebud Sioux, according to a report by the online publication Sicangu News. Parmelee, named a century ago for a grocery store owner, is located west of the city of Mission in the northwest corner of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, about a half hour from the Nebraska state line.
The congregation of Holy Innocents will continue to hold worship services in its guild hall, Stanley said. Those interested in supporting the congregation can make a financial donation online through the Diocese of South Dakota by selecting “give to congregations and missions” and specifying Holy Innocents Episcopal Church.
