SOMERSET, Ky. (LEX 18) — The road to recovery is a long one across our region after last week's deadly storms.
It caused a lot of emotions for Pastor Doug Couch as the tornado missed his home in Monticello only for him to see his church eviscerated in Somerset.
“It breaks your heart. The day I came into the church for the first time, I felt such a spirit of unease. You felt like the building was still moving.”
Redeemer Lutheran Church is truly a shell of its former self.
Last Friday's winds tore straight through the building, blowing the siding straight off and upending everything inside.
“We have a baby grand piano in the back corner of the church those things weigh about 500-600 pounds I guess," Pastor Couch said.
"It picked the piano up after it blew that wall out, carried the piano over the top of the pews and then set it down upside down at the front of the church."
As Pastor Couch stopped by the church Thursday, several people visited as well to help go through the damage, including Barbara McNamara who was visiting her parents in Somserset.
"It’s unbelievable to see Somerset now," McNamara said.
“(Next to the church) That was my favorite coffee place in Somerset. I’ve spent many days there on my laptop working. It holds a special place in my heart so hopefully they will also rebuild.”
Hope may be the only positive that can come from disaster.
Devastation like this brings people together, despite their differences, and Pastor Couch hopes that persists as rebuilding continues across the community.
“This is the kind of thing that happens to somebody else. You cry, you pray, you talk to each other but eventually you have to buckle down and get to work. That’s where we are," Pastor Couch said.
