Tree slices church's fellowship hall in half as storms move through metro

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NORTH HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A North Hall County church congregation woke up to find a Good Friday storm had toppled its church steeple and severely damaged its fellowship hall along Clarks Bridge Road.

The storm blew through around 6:30 a.m., bringing high winds to the Dewberry Baptist Church property north of Gainesville.

The gusts knocked over the church’s steeple, toppled a tall tree and sliced the fellowship hall in two.

Church Deacon Richard Clark said that, despite the damage, the sanctuary appears to be intact.

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“It’s fine,” Clark said as he worked to clear trees from the church parking lot. “We’ll be open Sunday morning. We’ll have our Easter sunrise service and our regular service, just like nothing happened.”

Church member Diane Andreasen rushed to check on her grandparents, who live two doors down from the church.

When she saw that their home had been damaged but they were OK, she went to check on the church and joined in to help with the cleanup.

“I didn’t think we’d be doing this on Good Friday,” Andreasen said. “Like I said, totally grateful and thankful that we’re good. Our church is good, and, you know, it was built with love, and it will be built back with love.”