Hail storms damaged the South Knoxville Nazarene Church in April 2011
Hail storms damaged the South Knoxville Nazarene Church in April 2011
Hail storms damaged the South Knoxville Nazarene Church in April 2011
One year later, church repairs are finished.
One year later, church repairs are finished.
One year later, church repairs are finished.
An East Tennessee church damaged by hail storms celebrated a new beginning Saturday afternoon. South Knoxville Nazarene Church held a ceremony to mark their reopening after a year of repairs following storm damage.
The church sustained major damage after hail storms ripped through the area last April. It destroyed the roof, and busted several windows which cost the church tens of thousands of dollars to repair.
"We've gone a long way, and it's come out really well, a lot better than we'd ever expected it to," said Pastor Daniel Miller.
Thanks to the generosity of other East Tennessee Nazarene churches, Miller's congregation had help with the repairs.
Churches in Greenville, Maryville, and Lenoir City donated time, money and people to help with rebuilding efforts.
"We didn't know how bad it was," said Nazarene District Superintendent Dr. Ronald McCormack. "When I came up and saw how bad it was, I called all forces I could get to come and help."
"They've just brought people from their church that just wanted to help, and donate their time, some people I'd never even met before," said Miller.
"They've just come and worked many hours to get it all done for us."
Some volunteers came to Saturday's service, where Miller and the congregation thanked them for their help and shared images and stories of their work.
"There's no way in the world we could have gotten it done without other people helping us, and we are just truly thankful, we are blessed people," he said.