Close
KTAR.com
News
Shows
Blogs
KTAR News on 92.3FM

For tornado-ravaged churches, rebuilding means rethinking

The ceiling of the Mayfield First United Methodist Church auditorium caves in over a row of dusty pews in Mayfield, Ky., on Sunday, Jan 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) An interior section of the First Christian Church building in Mayfield, Ky., on Jan. 9, 2022, is exposed from structural damage caused by a tornado on Dec. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) Letters from the First Christian Church signage dangle from the damaged building's facade on Jan. 9, 2022, in Mayfield, Ky. The First Christian Church was one of several downtown churches damaged by a tornado on Dec. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) Tornado damage to the Mayfield First United Methodist Church's century-old building is seen on Jan. 9, 2022, in Mayfield, Ky. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) A track loader sits next to debris outside the Grace Life Church headquarters on Jan. 9, 2022, in Mayfield, Ky. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) Spray paint marks the front door of the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Mayfield, Ky., on Jan 9, 2022. “We don’t have a building, but other churches within our denomination have been sending us supplies,” said Thomas Bright, steward at St. James AME, which suffered major damage to its roof and sanctuary. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) Rubble from the roof and walls cover the auditorium of the First United Methodist Church in Mayfield, Ky., on Sunday, Jan 9, 2022. First United Methodist is one of a half-dozen historic churches in the central core of this western Kentucky community that were destroyed or heavily damaged, all with roots dating back to the 1800s. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) The remnants of the Fairview Baptist Church sit on the corner of West Water Street and West South Street in Mayfield, Ky., on Sunday, Jan 9, 2022. The Rev. Leroy Brent, pastor for 33 years at Fairview Baptist, a predominantly Black congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, recalled his shock at the devastation the tornado left around the church. “I could stand on the steps that I would normally stand on every Sunday, and I didn’t know where I was,” he said. “There were no landmarks.” (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) A water-damaged Bible lies open to Jeremiah 25 on a pew inside the Mayfield First United Methodist Church on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Mayfield, Ky. First United Methodist is one of a half-dozen historic churches in the central core of this western Kentucky community that were destroyed or heavily damaged, all with roots dating back to the 1800s. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) A stained glass window is visible across the sanctuary of the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church on Jan. 9, 2022, in Mayfield, Ky. A tornado on Dec. 10, 2021, collapsed the auditorium roof and northern-facing wall. “We don’t have a building, but other churches within our denomination have been sending us supplies,” said Thomas Bright, steward at St. James AME, which suffered major damage to its roof and sanctuary. “So ... we got some U-Haul containers in our parking lot and we set up tables, so we’ve been distributing supplies, food, clothes, cleaning supplies, whatever we can to the community.” (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson) The damaged facade of the First United Methodist Church is seen on Jan. 9, 2022, in Mayfield, Ky. The century-old church has long been an anchor in the Kentucky town of about 10,000 residents, holding countless worship services, weddings, funerals and baptisms. That was before a deadly tornado swept through Mayfield in December, tearing off the church's roof and leaving rubble strewn across the entrance. (AP Photo/Audrey Jackson)