April 19, 2011

Associate Pastor Stephen Owen and his family escaped injury April 16 when one of the deadly tornadoes that ravaged North Carolina damaged the church building and parsonage of Shadow Well UCC in Sanford. The Owen family was in the parsonage when the tornado hit.

The twister overturned a church activity bus, ripped shingles from the church roof and downed large tree limbs. No injuries were reported.

The church's former pastor, the Rev. Jim Humphrey and his wife, Faye, traveled to the church from Charlotte on April 17 to attend a reunion, not realizing the church had been hit by the tornado, according to "The Charlotte Observer."

The UCC Southern Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, working with the Conference Minister, is checking with other UCC members and church facilities to assess further damage.

More information and directions for donating to the One Great Hour of Sharing Emergency USA fund are available online.

United Church of Christ News Service