Going home: Portland church to reopen this week
Members to hold first services in church since June tornado
PORTLAND — Pastor Letisha Bowman is especially looking forward to addressing her congregation this Sunday.
Bowman, pastor of the Portland United Methodist Church, will be leading the services from inside the 102-year-old church building for the first time in the eight months that she has been the church's pastor.
"I'm looking forward to getting back into our space and having everyone at the worship services in our own building," Bowman said.
Bowman officially became the church's pastor last July 1, just days after an EF-1 tornado struck Portland. The historic church along with two nearby iconic churches was severely damaged. The church's roof and several windows were damaged in the storm, resulting in damage to the interior of the building. The churches were among 132 buildings, including 109 homes, that were destroyed or heavily damaged by the tornado, resulting an estimated $3.3 million in property damage. No one was injured from the storm.
"For the most part, most things will be done by Sunday," Bowman said. "Some of the stained glass windows will not be replaced until spring because it will be safer to do so."
The church will hold a traditional worship service at 9 a.m. with a praise team style service at 11:15 a.m. An open house will be held between the services to allow members and visitors to look over the repaired structure.
One item that will be missing is the church's organ as it is not yet ready to be reinstalled, said Todd Ness, who is a member of the church's board of trustees.
"It will probably be another month for the organ to be replaced as the console and pipes are still being cleaned," Ness said. "The organ was not damaged too badly. However, we decided to remove it because of the damage to the roof and the threat for further damage from rain."
Ness added that some landscaping and cement work outside of the building will wait until spring and better weather conditions.
"We are really happy with all of the work that has been done," Ness said. "Belfor Restoration has been handling the work and their quality of work and entire operation have been great."
The church had been holding weekly services at the Portland Playhouse, the theater downtown, that had also been used by the First Baptist Church.
"The Playhouse board was very gracious in allowing us to use their facility," Bowman said. "However it was a transition because we always had to set up for the service and then take everything down each week. We are looking forward to being back in our space."
Repairs progressing across city
Repairs to the three other Portland churches damaged in the tornado are also progressing.
The Portland First Baptist Church moved its services to its fellowship hall on Oct. 25. Repairs are continuing to be made to the main sanctuary of the facility. Church officials are hoping the sanctuary will be repaired to the point that Easter services can be held in the building.
The First Congregational Church has been holding its worship services in its fellowship hall since July. That building was razed and a new structure is being built in its place. Construction is continuing and it could be ready to host services in late March or April.
And Epic, a community church, has been holding worship services at its location since Oct. 18.
Rebuilding efforts can be seen elsewhere in the city. Construction has started on a new Goodwill building near Grand River Avenue and Bridge Street. Next to that building a new structure that will house Coldwell Banker Frewen Realty has taken shape.
Portland City Manager Tutt Gorman said rebuilding efforts continue to progress around the city.
'There is so much work going on," Gorman said. "We are fortunate to have had a mild winter to this point which has allowed the crews to continue to work throughout the winter."
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Watch video of the tornado below:
Contact Tom Thelen at 377-1097 or tthelen@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomThelen_LSJ