APOSTOLIC News

Jackson, Tennesse – February 5, 2010. A mix of emotions will be felt tonight by Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church members two years after a tornado destroyed the church building but not their faith.

The congregation will host a tour of the new church building and celebrate their new home with a worship service at 7:01 p.m.

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the tornado that left a 35-mile path of destruction in Madison County, taking lives and damaging more than 700 homes and other structures including Lighthouse.

Construction on the 22,000-square-foot church began one year ago, and the church began using the facility last month. The new building is located at 1435 Old Humboldt Road and sits on 31 acres. It is five miles from the site of the old church.

The tornado has reaffirmed the trust of the church and its members by bring everyone closer together, said Pastor Donald Lance. Fourteen members who were in the church during the storm escaped unharmed.

“Anytime anyone goes through something very tragic in their life, whoever they go through it with, they reconnect closer with those people,” he said. “It’s made us stronger; it’s made us better, gave us a little more willpower and a little more passion. It lets us know that God does work in mysterious ways.

“Had it not been for (Northside Assembly Church of God) letting us use their facility, we would have lost momentum. We’re forever grateful to them,” Lance said.

About a mile away, Union University will hold a worship service to remember the storm that injured students and caused more than $40 million in damage to the campus. The service at the newly completed Katherine S. Bowld Student Commons building will begin at 7:02 p.m.

The North Jackson school opened the new building this week, which was the last campus structure that had to be rebuilt after the tornado.

The storm ravaged West Tennessee, leaving two dead in Huntersville and killing three men in Hardin County who were inside their mobile homes.

Madison County officials estimated that the tornado caused $150 million in damage. But many homes and West Tennessee businesses have been rebuilt.

The only way to tell that the tornado came through Madison County is by looking at the displaced timber in wooded areas, said Emergency Management Director Marty Clements.

He said the storm left the public more prepared for whenever severe weather hits again.

“You can never really say good things happened because of something like this, but people are a little more aware now of their surroundings,” Clements said. “We’ve had people put in safe rooms or storm shelters or made arrangements, and we’ve sold close to 4,000 weather alert radios.”

It is regrettable that two people were killed, and hopefully the next time that won’t happen, he said.

“Our goal is to reduce the fatalities, injuries and property damage that occurs and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Clements said.

Day-to-day operations are back to normal for the Phipps Pharmacy on Channing Way, although the remnants of the financial impact still linger from the storm, owner Jay Phipps said Thursday.

Around one year after the tornado, the store opened a new 2,000-square-foot branch to replace its previous store. When the Feb. 5 twister struck, it destroyed a renovated building.

Two years later, Phipps said he is still dealing with insurance issues from the damage but is glad to be open. “The main thing is we tried to take care of our employees and patients as best as we could and tried to deal with the rest of that as it came along,” Phipps said. “Overall, things seem like they’re back to normal. We really had a good reception from the community as far as accepting us and being glad that we’re back.”

The new Lighthouse building allows the church to hold activities such as programs for children and Bible studies and to branch out in its work in the community. Life and focus classes will delve into areas such as drug rehabilitation, anger management and parenting skills.

Over the last two years, the church was able to hold weekly services but had to put a hold on its outreach.

“The only time you’re together with the church is when you are at one of the two services you have per week, and you have no other time to see or be with them for church activities,” Lance said. “Whenever you don’t have a building you’re connected to, a building to gather at other than having church … Today people need those activities outside having service. Now we can start focusing on reaching the city, where before we didn’t have no identity.”

Jacksonsun.com