Portland church reopens Sunday

PORTLAND — The Epic Community Church congregation will return to its home Sunday after a June 22 tornado ripped off most of the church's roof, destroyed floors, ceilings and electrical wiring and blew out its windows.

The roughly 300-member Wesleyan congregation had been worshiping at a pavilion at the Bogue Flats Recreation Area following the tornado that damaged much of its building, located at 1455 E. Grand River Ave. The move back was "bitter sweet," said the Rev. Duane Bower, the church's lead pastor. The church, located in a retail strip mall, was established in 2006.

"I think we came to this recognition that the church is not just a building. It's more than that," Bower said. "But there's something to be said about  being home.”

Damage to the roughly 7,500-square-foot building totaled about $150,000, most of which was covered by insurance, Bower said. The difference, about $10,000, was raised from local fundraisers, including the "Portland Strong" T-shirt campaign. Congregation members helped clear debris after the tornado and moved items into the refurbished church.

"The community’s really stepped up and helped us out," Bower said. "It really benefited us. I don’t know if we would have gotten it done that quickly if we didn’t have that support.”

Contact Christopher Behnan at (517) 377-1261 or cbehnan@lsj.com . Follow him on Twitter@LansingCB.

More information

Services at Epic Community Church will be held at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday. The church hopes to hold two services, at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m., on Sundays starting in about a month. 
Learn more about the church at http://www.epic-community.org.