Rebuilt Historic Century Church Dedicated Three Years After Tornado

February 25, 2019

“The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.”

That was the first song from the congregation Sunday afternoon during a dedication service was  for a Century church that was damaged beyond repair by a powerful EF-3 tornado in February 2016.

For a photo gallery from the dedication service and a photo tour of the church, click here.

The February 15, 2016, EF-3 tornado that struck Century dealt a blow from which the building of the Century United Methodist Church could not be recovered, literally knocking the building off its foundation.

But the foundation of the church, the members, stood strong after the storm as they worked through the three-year rebuilding process, all while continuing to hold services in a house across the street that served as a church annex.

The Century United Methodist Church was built in 1902, just after Century was established by The Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company. It was constructed of virgin long leaf pine, with interior detail and finish that created a reverent place for worship.

The sanctuary of the new church building occupies the same square footage as the old. It features items salvaged from the historic church, including stained glass windows, pews, light fixtures and large curly pine panels.

The walkway to the front door is constructed of bricks from the original foundation. A verse from Psalm 100:4 is inscribed on a granite stone — “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

For a photo gallery from the dedication service and a photo tour of the church, click here.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.


Comments

4 Responses to “Rebuilt Historic Century Church Dedicated Three Years After Tornado”

  1. Bonnie EXNER on February 26th, 2019 6:27 pm

    So happy that CUMC has their church home back…of course we all know the REAL CHURCH ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ATTEND..but once a church has been destroyed, many parishioners migrate elsewhere..CONGRATULATES TO PASTOR JANET LEE AND HER PARISHIONERS FOR PERSERVERANCE..AND TO GOD BE THE GLORY!@

  2. Capt. John J Hook USN ret. on February 26th, 2019 10:52 am

    Absolutely beautiful just one note, facing the pulpit the American flag is to be placed on the left side.

  3. Well on February 25th, 2019 7:38 pm

    That’s great.
    Glad glad they stuck with it and were able to salvage and reuse items from the original Church.

  4. Dm on February 25th, 2019 7:55 am

    It’s beautiful! Congratulations and PTL!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News