‘This was a terrible thing to happen, but we’re seeing God through it’: Church reopens after tornado damage
Crossroads Ministries in Finleyville held its first service after a tornado last Saturday.
By Yazmin Rodriguez
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FINLEYVILLE, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — “My message is that God is always good. God protected us and we have our bright future ahead of us. Our best days are yet to come,” said Pastor Ken Barner.
That’s the message Barner spread Sunday morning inside Crossroads Ministries Church in Finleyville. It comes a little over a week after an EF2 tornado touched down while church services were in session. Hundreds of people were forced to take shelter, and the church sustained extensive damage.
“We got word from another friend that this happened, and it hit here, and everyone was devastated. Totally devastated, because this is our place, this is our comfort zone, this is our place,” said attendee Claudia White.
But everyone was just thankful there were no major injuries to anyone inside the church that night and excited to be back so quickly after it all happened.
“And he brought us here back today without us having to wait forever. And he took care of everything. Last week, no one was seriously injured or hurt, and we are just thanking God every day for that,” White said.
Barner said the church does currently have temporary roofing, and he hopes to have it fully reconstructed in the weeks to come.
“Our main sanctuary and the children’s area is fully functioning. However, our wing where our restrooms are and classrooms and offices, that is going to take a few months,” Barner said.
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