Wind peels roof off Cherryville church during storm

CHERRYVILLE, N.C. — An 80-by-60 foot section of a roof in the education building was blown off of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Cherryville during Wednesday night’s storms.

The interim pastor and other members were inside preparing for Ash Wednesday service.

[ IMAGES: Wind peels roof off Cherryville church during storm ]

"I was standing there," Interim pastor John Propst said.

A piece of stained glass fell in the pulpit and shards of glass still dangle over the sanctuary the day after.

"It hit just so quickly," Propst said. "Heard pops and cracks and the glass falling. I was thinking pretty quickly, 'What is happening?’”

He discovered a little more than a third of the roof from the education building on the lawn.

The wind peeled it off of the west end of the building, carried it over the sanctuary and dropped it on the east lawn.

"Kind of taking back when I walked to either side and saw all of the stuff out there," Propst said.

Rain poured into rooms once covered by the damaged roof.

"It was just kind of a waterfall coming through here," Propst said.

They were most concerned about the archive room where the history of the church, established in 1881, is stored in this room.

"The water was coming down in sheets in that room for a while," Propst said.

They were able to save almost everything, but some items are water logged.

A restoration crew worked quickly to remove everything they could from rooms that still have standing water on the floor.

They put a temporary covering on the roof, until they can replace the damaged section.

"We are just grateful to God that nobody got hurt," Propst said.

There are still too many hazards to allow crowds inside, and the fire department has condemned the building. The next few services will be held at Carpenter Porter Funeral home.

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