Tornado Slams Church During Service but All 100 Survive: ‘We Saw a Complete Miracle’

May 15, 2024

100 parishioners in Union Township, Pennsylvania survived a tornado tearing the roof of their church during a worship service Saturday night. According to Christian Headlines, Pastor Ken Barner is crediting God’s hand of protection with keeping the congregation safe.

Parishioner Linda Desing described her terror as the tornado ripped the roof and steeple off the building, telling KDKA, “We were sitting there singing a hymn and the lights started flickering. All of a sudden, one of the windows blew out and everybody ducked for cover. I don’t ever want to experience this again; I’ve thought about what it might be like to be in a tornado, and I don’t ever want to experience this again.”

About 100 attendees were inside the church, including babies who were present for a scheduled baby dedication. Pastor Barner said a few people suffered cuts and bruises but no one was seriously injured or hospitalized.

Damage to the church was substantial enough that Sunday morning’s in-person services were canceled. The pastor wrote on Facebook: “We had about 100 people in church for our service singing praise to God when it hit. We evacuated everyone to the basement and no one was injured. … Please thank God with me that God’s hand of protection was on us. Thank You Pastor Ken.”

The National Weather Service reported that the tornado was likely an EF-2 twister with winds between 111-135 miles per hour.

Photo: top, Credit: WXPI News