Church plans to rebuild after hit by 2nd tornado

The story

Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church in Petal was destroyed by the Jan. 21 tornado.

It also was destroyed by the February 2013 tornado.

It took the church three years to rebuild after the first tornado, and it hadn't been in the new building a year before disaster struck a second time.

The windows were blown out, the new pews damaged. The sanctuary's foundation shifted. Even the new fellowship hall was destroyed.

But that hasn't dampened the spirits of the church's members, who got to work right away to salvage what they could just hours after the storm passed.

And their leader, the Rev. Carl Burkett, keeping things on the bright side, even though he lost his home this time around, too.

"The Lord knows what's best for us," he said in an earlier story. "Sometimes he takes away one blessing to give us two. I hope that is the case with us."

What happened?

The congregation is using a church building in Moselle to meet temporarily.

"One good thing — we're not scattering and going to different churches," Deacon Ernest Collins said. "We're all going to one church. The congregation is sticking together."

Cleanup at the site is ongoing, and church leaders are working on plans for the future of the church.

What's next?

Church members say they plan to rebuild at the same site — where the original church was built in 1900, at 883 Mississippi 42. Anyone wishing to help the church rebuild can mail a check to Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church, 883 Mississippi 42, Petal, MS 39465 or any Trustmark Bank. Make checks payable to Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church Tornado Relief Fund.