BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—“It was all coming towards you,” Pastor Tanyce Addison said of the tornado that caused damage to the steeple of Good Hope Lutheran Church in April 2024.

“A big black cloud, then a wall of rain and wind, and things flying in the air,” Addison recalled. “I was holding on to my steering wheel because you could feel it lifting the car a little bit. The stop sign was laying flat on the ground, just bent completely over, and there was something red flying in the air. I turned to go towards the church parking lot. It was unbelievable, all the things that were flying in the air. I got into the parking lot and started to take my seat belt off to walk into the church. I thought maybe I’d be safer. But as soon as I did that, my car lifted. So I put my seat belt back on and thought, ‘I’ll just ride it out here.’ There was another car in the parking lot, and something big and red hit that car. Then it was over … a matter of five minutes. That was it.”

Afterward, Addison said, “everybody was out in the street ready to help. It was a beautiful moment.”

Discovering The Damage

“It wasn’t until the end of April and beginning of May,” Addison said, “that we had people coming in and saying, ‘the steeple looks crooked.’”

Well over a century old, Good Hope Lutheran Church’s steeple, towering 165 feet, is one of Bucyrus’ most recognizable landmarks.

The first investigation found the steeple to be undamaged. “But then,” Addison said, “it was decided to get a closer look and get some pictures at eye level. So we had some drones come in from the insurance company.”

On July 2, a report assembled from drone photographs revealed more than could be initially seen.

“We had no idea the extent of the damage,” she said. “You can stand in a lot of different places and see the steeple. But the pictures were very telling. There was definite damage. And the damage was assessed to be potentially dangerous … a life-threatening hazard.”

A Short Stay Away From Home

Pastor Addison called an immediate meeting of the church council.

“It was right after that meeting that we decided to close the church and find a place of worship,” she said. “There were a couple of options, but we were looking for a place where we could have our service time that wasn’t impinging on anybody else’s church life … so, that was a lot of work in the week of the 4th of July.”

“When you’re thinking of fireworks and everything, we’re thinking, ‘What do we have to do?’ And First Presbyterian is so close—right down the road. That was the call we made. And by that afternoon, in a matter of three hours, we had a place to worship, and they welcomed us in.”

In the months that followed, the community showed overwhelming support for Good Hope parishioners who now had to worship away from their home church.

“Everybody had heard the story about the steeple,” said Addison. “People that weren’t even from Good Hope were telling us the meaning of the steeple, to be towering over us and shining the light of God.”

Addison said 800 people joined a Facebook livestream of the first Good Hope service at the First Presbyterian Church.

“It was really very cool to see all the camaraderie of the church in cooperation with the community,” she said.

Grace Alone

In October, the opportunity came to re-enter Good Hope. After multiple assessments by Steeple Jacks of America, as well as other engineers and contractors, the church was deemed to be safe despite the damage to the steeple’s masonry.

“It’s a steeple that was designed in the 1890s,” said Addison. “That alone testifies to how well-built it was.”

Parishioners returned to the Good Hope sanctuary on Oct. 27, 2024, Reformation Sunday. The significance was not lost.

“Grace,” said Addison. “When we came back into the church and were able to say, ‘We did not ever stop being the church because of the building being closed.’ In fact, we were strengthened. It was like we’d been on a mission trip all that time. And we came home.”

According to Addison, repairs to the steeple will be completed once the weather gets warmer, and Good Hope’s church council is working on a “gratitude project” to thank the community for their continued support.

“We have tried to be aware of the people that helped us,” said Addison. “We couldn’t take advantage of all the places that were offered to us. So, we have decided to start this gratitude project. Each month, we’re doing something that makes us go out and see the community a little, and take God’s love.”

Having survived an encounter with a deadly storm, led her congregation through an indefinite separation from home, and faced the possible loss of a cherished landmark, Addison reflected on the experience.

“I always think of life being Psalm 23,” Addison said.

“It’s always thought to be the funeral Psalm, but it is not the funeral Psalm,” she explained. “It is about walking with God every day of your life.

“God gave us everything we needed. And we were so grateful there were no lives lost in this tornado here in Bucyrus. Tornadoes are not kind to so many communities. That was the amazement of living that faith,” said Addison. “You just knew that your eyes were a little more open.”