Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Smoke was spotted coming from the North Manchester Church of the Brethren at 2 a.m. and it took area fire departments three hours to bring the fire under control.
Officials have not discussed a possible cause of the fire or where they believe the blaze originated.
The church, located at the intersection of Seventh and Walnut streets in the downtown, was in the midst of expansion.
The most serious damage was in the 100-year-old sanctuary, which was destroyed. Firefighters were able to save the piano and a few pews, said police chief Mike Colgate.
No injuries were reported.
The state fire marshall and representatives of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were looking through the smoking remains this morning, but declined comment. The city's fire chief said he would discuss the fire later this afternoon.
The ATF is regularly called to investigate suspicious church fires because of the large number of church fires in recent years, many of which were in the southern parts of the United States.
A North Manchester policeman spotted smoke and then reported the fire at 2:06 a.m., Colgate said.
A concentration of flames was seen in the northwest part of the building and fire is believed to have spread to the sanctuary, Colgate said.
Because of the roof's design, firefighters were unable to douse the flames in the roof from within the building. The roof later collapsed. An outside wall of the sanctuary also collapsed.
The church has about 300 parishioners.
