Cumberland Congregation Grateful Despite Fire

The new church was still under construction, and was supposed to open next weekend.

Two days after the fire, members held Sunday morning services today in the parking lot. Their minister encouraged them to look past the burned-out building, and into their hearts.

"If you look at the church, it's torn down and it's broken, but you can't let yourself be broken by things like that," church member McDaniel Sharver said. And if you are, then everything's lost."

It was an emotional service for this large but tight-knit congregation.

They asked for strength and healing, and vowed to re-build. The foundation of the church remains intact, and so does the faith of its members.

"You know, God brought us this far, and I believe he'll take us on," church member Margaret Evans said. "He brought us to the mountain top. We didn't cross over."