A video depicting a church engulfed in flames is being widely shared on social media with a claim that the church allegedly located in Boston, Massachusetts, was struck by lightning during a famous same-sex couple’s wedding. The alleged incident is said to have occurred on 3 June 2023. This article aims to fact-check the claim.
Claim: A church in Boston was struck by powerful lightning during the wedding of a same-sex couple on 3 June 2023.
Fact: The footage in the video actually shows the First Congregational Church of Spencer, Massachusetts, burning down after being struck by lightning. News reports confirm that the church was closed and unoccupied during the incident. Therefore, the claim made in the post is False.
The video in question shows the burning of the First Congregational Church of Spencer, Massachusetts. Boston25 News, a video that is similar to the viral video on Twitter. Also, this incident has been widely reported by various news outlets.
News reports (here, here, and here) confirm that the First Congregational Church of Spencer caught fire after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm on 2 June 2023.
Hindustan Times reported that the church was empty when the fire broke out, and no one was injured. It took nearly 100 firefighters to control the blaze. In a conversation with AP News, the Fire Chief of Spencer, Robert Parsons, stated that the church was closed and no wedding was taking place at the time of the incident.
A video uploaded by USA Today on YouTube showcases the church’s steeple falling from a different angle. CBS News reported that firefighters were able to pull back in time before the steeple collapsed.
This contradicts the claim that firefighters were unable to reach the church before it was completely destroyed. This video and photos in the Facebook post by the Spencer Fire and Emergency Services clearly show firefighters extinguishing the fire while the building was still standing.
To sum up, the viral claim associating the church fire with a lightning strike during the wedding of a same-sex couple in Boston is false. The footage actually depicts the First Congregational Church of Spencer, Massachusetts, which caught fire after being struck by lightning on 2 June 2023. The church was closed and unoccupied during the incident, contrary to the claim made in the post.
