
‘Every time I watch a storm …’
The nation turned its attention to southern Alabama after a…
A church van rests amid debris after a tornado heavily damaged the Hackleburg Church of Christ building in Alabama. (Photo by Patrick Flanagan)
In the small town of Hackleburg, Ala., more than two dozen people died April 27 as a tornado destroyed the only grocery store, schools, the police station, the fire department and homes.
Winds stronger than 200 mph ripped away the front of the Hackleburg Church of Christ building and ravaged the foundation, walls and roof, minister Mike Lane said.
The building appears to be a total loss, Lane said.
“I don’t know whether we can salvage the pews or not,” he added.
Lane and his wife, Betty, hid in a closet in their house about three blocks from the church.
“It’s the only place in the house where we could have survived it,” the minister told The Christian Chronicle. “My wife got a broken clavicle. I got bruised up pretty badly. Other than that, I’m in pretty good shape.”
Cases of bottled water sit outside the Hackleburg Church of Christ building in Alabama in the wake of the April 27 tornado. (Photo by Patrick Flanagan)
Bridget Renee Barnwell Brisbois, 34, a member of the Hackleburg church, died in the storm, Lane said. Her son, Mitchell, less than a month old, was with his grandparents and survived.
That Sunday, church members — including a half-dozen or more families who lost homes — gathered for a short worship assembly outside the devastated building.
“Tears were shed,” Lane said. “I spoke some encouraging words. It was the beginning of the healing process.”
The Hackleburg storm was part of a swath of twisters April 27 that killed about 350 people and injured thousands more across seven states.
To help: Hackleburg Church of Christ, P.O. Box 176, Hackleburg, AL 35564.
See other Chronicle coverage of the April 27 tornadoes.
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My favorite chapter in the New Testament is Philippians 4, and it gives me a great deal of strength and hope. While we mourn for those lost, hurt with those injured, and thankful for those who were not harmed; it is also an opportunity to “live Christ”.
There are so very many who have been hurt, lost homes, jobs, and even the most basic neccesities for their way of living. And it will be more than giving a few dollars to the disastor response groups. Those with ability can give their time and “sweat” to help with clean-up and rebuilding.
Thanks to the CC for it’s reporting of our Family who have been lost and hurting.
May the Lord comfort and strengthen all those affected by this disastor