It’s been a week since an EF-1 tornado damaged New Life at Calvary Church in Cleveland, and the church is slowly starting to make repairs.
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There’s now a temporary roof covering youth worship, classroom, and office spaces at the 143-year-old church. No one was hurt.
“We have made some progress, so there is hope,” said Pastor Kellie Sullivan.
She said damage assessments continue, and it’s not known how much insurance will cover.
“Because of building being hit by a tornado, they have to check every aspect,” Sullivan said. “Every wall- every portion of the foundation has to be checked to make sure nothing has shifted or moved.”
She said the sanctuary's roof also had damage, and other issues are preventing services from being held in that sacred space.
“There’s some spires on top of the sanctuary that apparently weigh tons- and so those have shifted, and if one of those comes through the roof, that causes more damage,” Sullivan said. ‘So, all of those beautiful historical decorations that are on top of our building have to be checked, supported and maintained.”
With the church being a Cleveland historic landmark, it creates extra steps in the process.
“There's going to be a lot of consultation with the Cleveland Landmark Office as well as the historical departments,” Sullivan said. “Our building has to be carefully restored.”
Sullivan shared a church surveillance video showing when the tornado hit. The video shows waves of rain moving across the parking lot before large sections of the roof get blown away.
"It’s still shocking," Sullivan said. "It just takes my breath away to see it."
A surveillance camera in the youth area also captured the storm.
“We're still experiencing a lot of sadness, a lot of mourning (and) a lot of sorrow for what we're going through,” Sullivan said.
Last Sunday, the church gathered for a parking lot service. This Sunday, they’ll gather in the church’s gymnasium. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb is expected to attend and speak.
Sullivan said it’s important for the church to still gather on site despite the challenges.
“It’s so uplifting and encouraging,” Sullivan said. “I can tell you it's just healed a portion of my heart where that brokenness was.”
Before the tornado, the church was in the midst of a capital improvement campaign that they named Building on Faith.
“That’s what we’re honestly doing. We’re building on faith right now and hope and trust that God will provide,” Sullivan said. “Our building was already in need of some help and support. So, now we feel like we’re on life support… so we need the additional help. We want to come back to better than what we were—a stronger, healthy building. A stronger, healthy church. We want this church to be able to serve this community for hundreds of years to come."
