It may look like an empty lot now, but on Sunday the piece of property that once was home to Cullman Guns, Ammo and Pawn Shop will be turned into a temporary place of worship.

For the first time since East Side Baptist Church purchased the land that sits on U.S. Highway 278, the congregation will be at another launching point with the future of their new home when they host a remembrance service in observance of the upcoming one-year anniversary of the April 27 tornadoes.

Church services as East Side came to a stop a year ago when an EF-4 tornado tore through downtown Cullman, destroying every building in its path, including the church’s structure. Since then, they’ve been holding services at Christ Covenant.

“This is going to be a time of remembrance and a time of celebration,” pastor Ken Allen said. “This gives us an opportunity as a church to look at everything we do in a fresh new way. God has given us a great opportunity to start new, and that’s how we’re looking at this.”

Allen, along with several others, were in the church building when the tornado came through that day. After seeing the devastation, he saw the individual needs that were in the community. At the same time, he was going through some of the things on a corporate level.

“When an individual goes through something like that, whether they lost their home or were injured, this can be a time of renewal,” Allen said. “They have to rebuild. This gives an opportunity to examine  our trust and where we place it, and we have that on a corporate level at East Side. As a church, we just want to identify with the community and be a church to minister,” Allen said.

With the widening of Highway 278 inching closer to becoming a reality, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) bought the property where East Side once stood. Because the project was going to take 40 feet of the property away, Allen said it was going to almost be impossible for them to rebuild on the same site. So, shortly after, the owners of the pawn shop approached him about purchasing their piece of land that sits inside Sunset Drive. It became a done deal at the end of last year.

Though it looks as though breaking ground could take place any day, Allen said that phase is still a few months away. Right now, he said they’re in the detail phase, and if everything goes well, he hopes they’ll be able to break ground by late summer.

“This is a long process,” Allen said. “These days, people want things sooner than later, and Sunday will be able to give the congregation the opportunity to say they were there. It will be a good time for encouragement and hope for the future.”

The worship service starts at 10:45 a.m.

 

* Ashley Graves can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 225 or by email at agraves@cullmantimes.com.