From Alabama-Rector Bailey Norman takes me around the church campus; while the main church building still isn't open for service they've come a long way from Christmas Day--when they almost lost the whole building.
“The engineer we brought in walked in and told us within five seconds to get out this building is in danger of collapse and we thought we were going to lose the building at that point,” says Rector Bailey Norman.
Today repairs continue--and services have been held in this smaller fellowship hall. The destruction has brought the congregation closer together.
“One of the things I'm very proud of is that we've been able to have more of an impact in our community, not to the extent I would like we've gotten to know our neighbors better they've been able to know us,” says Norman. While no one would ever want a repeat of the Christmas Day tornado, this disaster has given this church a unique opportunity to grow. The church bought land next door--they haven't decided what to do with the extra space yet--but the rector says it won't be a parking lot expansion--they want to do something to better the community and ministry. In this year of rebuilding the rector says there are some parallels between this building's troubles and the Christmas story.
More here-
http://www.wkrg.com/story/24292158/trinity-episcopal-rebuilding-a-year-after-almost-losing-it-all
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