When Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church in Petal was heavily damaged by the tornado that rolled through Petal and Hattiesburg on Feb. 10, 2013, the church’s congregation didn’t let it stop them from rebuilding and getting back in the church.
And when another tornado hit in January 2017, forcing the congregation out of the church just a year after moving back in, members once again rallied to rebuild their place of worship.
The fruits of those labors will be honored with a sanctuary dedication service from 2:30-4 p.m. Sunday at the church, 883 Mississippi 42 in Petal.
“We’ll be back, and we’re very proud of that,” Mt. Vernon pastor Carl Burkett said. “We had dedicated the fellowship hall back in the spring, and we moved into that and were having service in there.
“It was kind of congested, so we’ll be happy to move over into our sanctuary, where we’ll have more room and more space.”
While Mt. Vernon members were rebuilding after both tornadoes, the congregation at Petal First Baptist Church offered their building to Mt. Vernon to worship there, and also made financial contributions to help get the church rebuilt.
“They were a very big help – not only on Sunday, but they’re a great help to us every day,” Burkett said. “Hopefully we are the same for them.
“We show it by having services combined – we have done that several times and found it quite enjoyable.”
Brad Eubank, pastor at Petal First Baptist Church, said he’s glad to see Mt. Vernon rebuilt and back to normal.
“We’re super excited for them, he said. “I got to the building that morning (of the tornado) with one of their deacons, and we were just crushed by the damage that was there.
“But we’re excited to see them come back again, stronger than ever, and we’re looking forward to their building being dedicated. We’re honored that we get to celebrate with them, and we want to help them and support them any way we can.”
Now that all the major work has been done to rebuild Mt. Vernon, all that remains is some minor chores such as landscaping.
“I don’t know if we will be completed with that come Sunday or not, but we do have the major things done,” Burkett said. “If we don’t have the landscaping done (by Sunday), we are going to do it immediately after we move in when we have more time.”
