Daphne Bowers considered First United Church a second home.
If you gave the 73-year-old Pacquet woman a pen and a piece of paper, she could probably produce as detailed a floor plan as you could find anywhere.
Chances are, Bowers would start with the pair of towers, visible from the hill heading into the heart of the Baie Verte Peninsula community.
She'd trace the three rows of pews leading toward the pulpit from the entrance of sanctuary. On multiple occasions, she's joked there was one row each – for the Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats – when describing it to visitors.
She'd trace the communion rail at the front of the sanctuary with its row of cushions.
Bowers could outline the raised pulpit with the small set of steps heading up. It is where she helped conduct services over the years, though never preaching, when she was required.
In her mind's eye, she can see the choir area behind it with the church organ and a pair of accordions.
She can even see the kitchen and meeting area in the basement. It’s a place where she helped serve many meals over the years.
Sadly, how the church exists in her mind's eye is all she has now, after the historic building was gutted by a fire last week.
"The thought of (the fire) won't leave me," said Bowers. "It’s like there is a piece of me missing. I knew it like my own home.
"It’s awful."
On April 23, fishermen heading out the bay in Pacquet noticed smoke billowing from one of the church windows at 4:45 a.m. It had recently been brought up to the latest fire codes.
By the time firefighters from the town's volunteer department arrived, the building was on fire.
For more than five hours, crews battled the blaze from outside the building. With no one inside, there wasn't any need to enter and fight from the inside.
Additional firefighters from departments in Woodstock and Baie Verte arrived soon after to help.
Though the sanctuary couldn't be saved, the fire was contained to the church site and didn't spread to the nearby houses.
Built in 1956, the church was an integral part of the community for 63 years. It housed many items that were donations from community members, things like communion plates and hymn books.
There were other items that served as town artifacts, all lost now.
Church records and money were not kept on site.
A pair of investigations have been launched to determine the cause and for insurance purposes, necessary before there’s a decision to rebuild or not.
Bowers has a long history with First United. It is the only church she ever attended.
She remembers sitting with her grandmother and watching her smile as a child. They would wear their Sunday hats.
Her father Max Norman was one of the men who would ring the church bell.
When it was his turn, he'd ring it three times in the morning and three times at night, before services.
Bowers was married in the church, christened three of her sons there and saw one of them get married in that familiar sanctuary.
In the last couple of years, the funeral for her husband was held there.
As it is with a lot of people, the key moments in her life are tied to First United Church.
In the initial hours as she watched her beloved building burn, Bowers could hardly believe it. She thought of the Easter service they had just had there a couple of days before.
Often, the emotion of the situation would overcame her.
Often, she cried.
"There are a lot of good memories in that church," said Bowers. "There was a lot of singing and lot of praying there.
"I'm really going to miss it."
