Westminster Presbyterian Church, located about a block away from the University of Southern Mississippi campus, was hit hard by the storm, which also caused damage to the offices for the Mississippi Presbytery. “That’s a devastating blow to Westminster; it’s a great church,” said the Rev. Michael Herrin, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Port Gibson in western Mississippi near Vicksburg and a former stated clerk of Mississippi Presbytery. “This will be like having to start over.”

The powerful tornadoes that churned their way through south-central Mississippi into neighboring Alabama Sunday evening [02/10/13] left devastation in their wake.

While there were no deaths associated with a powerful twister that struck Hattiesburg, it did lead to widespread damage to buildings, homes, cars and a church. Scores of people – as many as 60, according to various reports – were injured, and seven counties were placed under a State of Emergency issued by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant.

Westminster Presbyterian Church, located about a block away from the University of Southern Mississippi campus, was hit hard by the storm, which also caused damage to the offices for the Mississippi Presbytery.

“That’s a devastating blow to Westminster; it’s a great church,” said the Rev. Michael Herrin, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Port Gibson in western Mississippi near Vicksburg and a former stated clerk of Mississippi Presbytery. “This will be like having to start over.”

Online photos of the church show large trees leaning against the building and others lying along the grounds, many of them snapped like twigs. Portions of the church’s roof are missing, windows are smashed, walls are crushed and piles of rubble litter the lawn and driveway surrounding the structure.

Current Administrative Presbyter Dr. John Dudley said the church suffered extensive damage, and three other buildings on the property were destroyed. The presbytery office was removed from its foundation, moved some 6 feet, and Dudley said there was little left to salvage following his site visit on Monday.

“It was tremendously frightening,” Dudley said, describing the sound as that of the classic freight train mentioned so often when tornadoes strike an area. “We went through Katrina, and it was a lot like that, only it lasted 30 seconds instead of 12 hours.”

Dudley said no firm decisions have been made about the future of the presbytery office, though there has been an offer of some office space available made by a congregation in Laurel.

Congregants of Westminster, which has about 200 members, will be holding services in a nearby Methodist church for the foreseeable future.

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