By Ellen Ciurczak
More than 100 members of Westminster Presbyterian returned Sunday to the church damaged in the Feb. 10 tornado to take communion and celebrate the rebuilding of their place of worship.
The restored sanctuary still had no altar, pews or flooring, but its stained glass windows glowed with light, as the bread and wine were passed around the circle.
“It’s a beautiful experience,” said parishoner Kay Moore, who like the others at the church has been attending services at Parkway Heights United Methodist Church ever since the tornado struck.
“It’s very poignant that we’re almost a year in time to the tornado,” she said. “It’s wonderful that we were able to preserve the heart of this church — the sanctuary.
“I feel the presence of God here.”
Pastor Steve Ramp had invited members of the congregation to take a tour of the church to see the progress that had been made in the year since the tornado.
“The first Sunday after the tornado we came back and we got in a circle and I said a prayer,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve been back since then.”