Hymnal pages were salvaged from the blaze by firefighters. (Christy Perry for The Cullman Tribune)
CULLMAN COUNTY – “God is still good!” the Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church choir sang at the first service since the church lost its sanctuary, classrooms and fellowship hall to a devastating fire last Tuesday night.
The buildings may have burned, but the service under the trees Sunday morning was proof that the church is stronger than ever.
The sadness of the congregation was still palpable, but it was dwarfed by optimism, determination and perseverance. Members of the church and community worked all day Saturday clearing the charred remains of the building leaving only the original sanctuary. A wooden cross marked the location of the altar lost in the fire.
Under the giant shade trees were rows of folded chairs containing hymnals and boxes of tissues for the emotional Sunday service. A steady stream of families filled all the seats and the 11 a.m. service began with the singing of “My Hope is Built” followed by “Not Made with Hands” and a heartfelt rendition of “Victory in Jesus.”
The choir, consisting of members of all ages, then sang, “God's Been Good to Me” and “God is Still Good,” prior to Pastor Daryl Ross’ sermon.
Bro. Ross spoke of his personal struggles over the past several days and the difficulty in knowing what to preach.
He reminded everyone, “We are all right, and despite this tragedy and the questions of why, our faith and salvation in God was never in question. What DO you preach after a catastrophe?? Just preach the Word!”
After a powerful sermon and a passing of baskets for offerings, Ross made several announcements. He thanked everyone for all the hard work and said a special thank you to Steve Martin of Pinpoint Locating, Inc. Martin insisted on donating all the equipment needed to clear the church grounds of debris.
Westside Baptist loaned hymnals for Warrior Creek to use. The tables underneath the trees contained boxes of the burned pages from hymnals that were found by firefighters.
The church plans to “stay at home,” said Ross.
He added, “We have had many generous offers and we appreciate every single one of them. We intend to stay home. We will have six Sunday school rooms ready soon inside the old sanctuary. We hope to have power reconnected Tuesday and Servpro will be cleaning soon. Our greatest need is a self-contained double wide trailer that already has heating and cooling and can seat 100 to150 people. If we can find that, we can stay home.”
Chairman of the Deacon Board, James Carson, said, “The state fire marshal ruled that the cause of the fire was ‘electrical unknown.’ I grew up on the same street as this church. I’m 95 years old and the church has always been a part of my life. We will rebuild, though. We will be OK.”
Ross estimated being displaced for at least a year as the church moves into the rebuilding phase. The church is located at 1857 County Road 1830 in Arab, in the extreme northeast corner of Cullman County. The original structure was built in 1857.
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