News 12 at 11 o'clock, May 14, 2008

MILLEN, Ga.---A local church had its Wednesday service not under a steeple, but in a gym, because of Sunday's storm damage.

"I like to say we were shaken but not stirred," said Pastor Mike Dann.

A storm hit his church, Rosemary Baptist in Millen. The pastor estimates it caused about $70,000 dollars worth of damage on the sanctuary and fellowship hall alone, but he chooses to look on the bright side.

"You have to look at the blessings, and the blessings are that for a community that was hit this hard as we are, there was no major injuries," he said.

He's especially thankful there weren't any injuries in the Sunday School Building, because the storm hit just two hours before classes would have started.

"If it would have hit then, we would've had about thirty people in here," he said.

The storm blew through the cemetery just behind the church, leaving some graves and shattered.

And the steeple is now on the ground, instead of pointing toward the sky.

"I'm kinda devastated that the tornado hit it but we just, we're gonna have to move on," said member Cardell Mills.

One way they've started moving on is by moving to the gym for their temporary sanctuary.

"If we had to we would just pitch a tent," said Mills.

Members gathered Wednesday for their first service since the storm, and the pastor had a message to fit the occasion.

"We are gonna focus on thanking God in the good times as well as the bad, and moving forward," the pastor said.

As they look ahead at rebuilding, the pastor says there's no room to be mad.

"Not angry at all, thankful to be the pastor of this church at this time, and thankful to have life," he said.

The church is now waiting for insurance in order to start rebuilding. They hope to have everything done in two to three months.