Student-pastor critically hurt in manse explosion
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, March 31, 2000
RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. – Police say a Presbyterian student-pastor may have intentionally caused an explosion that destroyed his church’s manse and damaged 35 homes in the surrounding area.
The minister, Mark Boyer, 39, is in critical condition at University Hospital in Madison, Wis. Boyer, who is married and has four children, was serving as student-pastor of Town & Country Presbyterian Church in Richland Center. He attended nearby Dubuque Seminary. His wife and children were out of town when the explosion occurred.
Boyer was conscious when firemen found him in the manse after the explosion on March 25. Medical attendants said he had burns covering nearly 80 percent of his body. Investigators said they found a box of kitchen matches near where Boyer was discovered. Some of the matches had been ignited.
According to court records, Boyer left a tape-recorded goodbye message to his wife in his 1993 Saab. “The message ‘stated he was sorry and couldn’t go on,’ gave instructions on how to tell the children about his death, mentioned life insurance amounts she could expect to receive and gave funeral instructions,” The Capital Times of Madison reported.
The newspaper said the Richmond County District Attorney’s office was considering whether to charge Boyer with causing the explosion. The newspaper said that according to search warrants two water-heater gas pipes leading into the manse at 1145 W. Haseltine St. appeared to have been intentionally cut. In addition, the main shutoff lever and fitting for the home’s primary gas line were missing, “allowing gas to enter the home without impediment,” investigators told The Capital Times.
Stan Hankins of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance dispatched a disaster and prayer alert by e-mail. “Today, John Knox Presbytery provided PDA with information that indicates the explosion was caused by Mark Boyer’s attempted suicide. The congregation, presbytery and Dubuque Seminary are in a state of shock.”
Hankins said Presbyterian Disaster Assistance was sending $10,000 from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering to help sustain the church’s ministry. “Members of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team may be dispatched to the area if needed. GAC Executive Director John Detterick and Stated Clerk Cliff Kirkpatrick have offered the care and concern of the entire Presbyterian family,” Hankins said.
Hankins called for prayer for Boyer, his family, the Town and Country Congregation, John Knox Presbytery and Dubuque Seminary and for the Richland Center community.