VIDEO: A Church Opening

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – For around eighty years the Still Valley Missionary Baptist Church has been a part of the Louisville community.

In 2014, the entire building was destroyed by tornadoes.

Today, 3 years later, the church held a dedication to open their new facility.

It was quite the celebration, given the fact that the tornado took all of the old building.

“Still Valley was devastated, nothing left but the foundation,” said Louisville resident Carl Hathorn.

The citizens of Louisville have come together to erase the memories of that storm, and Sunday they celebrated with the opening of the new Still Valley Missionary Baptist Church facility with musical performances, scriptural readings, and expressions of gratitude.

“This house of prayer, three year ago, was totally wiped away by a tornado, and we are here today just to give God thanks for allowing us to get back to this point, where we can worship back here on this hill,” said Still Valley Pastor, William Haynes.

The event wasn’t strictly for members of the church.

City officials, as well as members of other congregations came together to show their love and support, both when the tornado hit and when the new building was opened.

“Still Valley is a vital part of the community. There are several communities within this town, but this community was hit hard when the tornado came through,” said Hathorn.

This dedication is just another way of showing how a community can come together during difficult times… And come out on top.

“Louisville is a close knit community, from the mayor, the supervisors, all the women, and the men here, they all work together in concern about one another,” said Haynes.