Two Kentucky congregations hold joint service in lot between destroyed churches

Two Kentucky congregations came together for a joint Christmas Eve service in an empty lot between their churches, which were destroyed by deadly tornadoes earlier this month.

Congregations from the First Presbyterian Church and First Christian Church in Mayfield, Kentucky gathered for the Christmas Eve service Friday, coming together to bid farewell to the cherished buildings while still expressing optimism about the future.

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“I’ve said all week, your pastor has said all week, you see what’s standing on this parking lot, this is the church right here,” First Christian Church’s senior pastor Dr. Milton West said during the liturgy, according to reporting from the Lexington Herald Leader.

“We will stop and we will shed a tear, but we will also see this as an opportunity,” West continued. “An opportunity to rise from the ashes of the loss of a building, to reclaim our place in this community and to bring our understanding of faith to succeeding generations. What lies ahead for both congregations will be one of the most challenging things you will ever undertake, and if we do it together, it will last.”

Roughly 100 people attended the service in the lot lit by generator-powered lights, with West saying that the congregations were closing buildings but making clear there would not be a “closing of a ministry.”

Emergency workers search through what is left of the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory after it was destroyed by a tornado. (Photo by John Amis / AFP) (Photo by JOHN AMIS/AFP via Getty Images)
((Photo by JOHN AMIS/AFP via Getty Images))

“Part of this service is to give you an opportunity to grieve and to say goodbye to a building where you have worshiped for many, many years,” West…