12/6/13 Ocean City Today

Page 6

Ocean City Today

6A NEWS

DECEMBER 6, 2013

Congregation taking it ‘Sunday by Sunday’ following blaze ZACK HOOPES Staff Writer (Dec. 6, 2013) When the parishioners of St. Paul’s by-the-Sea gathered this past Sunday for morning services, they experienced what was likely the harshest departure from the norm that any congregation had yet encountered in the institution’s century-plus history. Most profoundly, they were without their pastor, the Reverend David Dingwall, who had passed away the previous Tuesday. Dingwall died as a result of a fire in the church’s rectory, alongside John Sterner, the man who allegedly started the blaze by committing suicide by selfimmolation. Authorities have nothing definite on Sterner’s motivation, only that he clearly intended to cause his

own demise when he doused himself in gasoline and approached the church’s food pantry. “The answer to that question will haunt us. It will haunt us for a long time,� said Bishop James Shand of the Episcopal Diocese of Easton, who travelled to Ocean City Sunday to perform the service in Dingwall’s stead. Even further, the congregation was not actually in their church, but in the public meeting chamber of Ocean City’s Town Hall – a space about as conducive to faith in a higher power as caffeine is to a good night’s rest. Although the fire was limited to the rectory, services are unable to be held in the church’s main hall until clean-up is complete. But what was most painfully different, at least from the parishioners’ point of view, was the absence of Dingwall’s voice.

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had a unique perspective on a lot of things.� In a position that could often be dry and dogmatic, Dingwall was, by all accounts, colorful and sincere. He wore and earring and, in the summertime, Crocs, a shoe rarely associated with religious hierarchy. “We all joked that it was the earring, that that was always the reason for everything,� said St. Paul’s organist and music director of 38 years, Shirley Hailey. “He had a real sense of humor. We had a lot of fun together over the years.� “He didn’t conform or subscribe to any stereotypes,� said Dingwall’s brother-in-law Dave Regis. “In his ministry, you are who you are. “He was concerned about the pastoral aspect of it first and foremost,� Regis said. “He knew people weren’t perfect.� With children of his own, several parishioners said Dingwall’s approachable style appealed particularly to kids. His children’s sermon, which he did every week, was enjoyed by all ages. “He wanted to build their interest in the church and have them build a family in the church,� said parishioner Lauren Taylor. “We have young children ourselves, and he made us all feel very welcome in the church,� Connor said. “It brought my wife and I a lot of joy to see that.� See PARISHIONERS on Page 7A

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“I left church a lot of Sundays sort of regurgitating what he had said,� said parishioner Brian Connor. “And it was with understanding, not just by rote. He

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A banner on the second floor of St. Paul’s gutted rectory thanks passersby on Baltimore Avenue for their support following the fire last Tuesday.

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Sterner bought gas and doused himself before fire, cops say smoke inhalation.� The fact that Sterner used an accelerant indicates that he desired his own demise, Colbert said, but the OCPD has thus far not uncovered a motive “in the sense that he was going after any group or individual.� The case will be forwarded to the state’s attorney for potential legal action, Colbert said, “but at this time I don’t know what the recommendation will be.� Continued from Page 5A

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