Nearly five years after remnants of Hurricane Ida severely flooded Messiah Lutheran Church in Downingtown, Chester County, congregants returned Sunday to celebrate the church’s grand reopening.
The morning included bells processing into the rebuilt sanctuary, a dedication of the renewed space and a ribbon cutting marking the end of a yearslong rebuilding effort.
“We dedicate ourselves and these renewed spaces to your praise and to your mission,” the congregation heard during the service.
Floodwaters from remnants of Hurricane Ida ravaged the church nearly five years ago, leaving parts of the building inundated with water and mud.
“Imagine up to here. That’s how high the water was,” Carol Reiner, a church council member in charge of fellowship, said while showing the height of the flooding.
The church’s organ, instruments and soundboard were a total loss. About 220,000 gallons of water had to be pumped from the property.
The church’s insurance did not include flood coverage, but FEMA provided $4.3 million for renovations.
The rebuilding process included changes intended to reduce the risk from future flooding. The church’s basement was completely filled in as part of FEMA’s requirements, Reiner said.
“We don’t have a basement anymore. It’s been completely filled in. That was a requirement of FEMA,” she said.
The church also installed its new organ on a platform designed to float if water enters the building.
“There’s floats under here, that when water hits it, water will come in and the thing will float up,” Reiner said.
One section of the church was rebuilt four feet higher. Renovations also included a multipurpose room, offices and the preschool, which has been closed for five years.
“That’s the big thing we had lost and are hoping to get back,” Pastor Timothy Knauss said.
Knauss, who has served as pastor since 2019, said the congregation itself never closed despite losing much of its physical space.
“It’s beyond the building, and that’s what I think was most important over these five years, that we never lost sight of who we are here in Downingtown and what our purpose is,” Knauss said.
Congregants said their community helped carry them through the lengthy rebuilding process.
“It’s just a very hopeful thing when you see something like this happen, and we spread out love. That’s what we’re all about,” Nathan Fletcher, the church council’s stewardship chair, said.
On Sunday, a building once filled with floodwater was again filled with the congregation that calls it home.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
