Video: Tupelo Residents Gather to Give Thanks for Recovery After April 2014 Tornadoes

[syndicaster id=’5738295′]

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) -The tornado of April 28, 2014 carved a path of destruction through Tupelo and Lee County before touching down in Itawamba County.

Today, the community gathered to remember, reflect and look ahead during a lunchtime service WCBI’s Allie Martin joins us now from Tupelo…

“Thanks, we are in the Joyner neighborhood, one of the areas hardest hit by the tornado.That twister made a beeline for Lee County after it hit here, and today’s service was held at a church that is symbolic of the way city and county leaders worked together in the aftermath of the storm. ”

At this service there were songs of resolve,and prayers of thanksgiving.

Hundreds came to Cedar Grove United Pentecostal Church for the service. The church was in the path of the tornado, and is a physical testament to a major theme of the ceremony, city and county governments working together. Part of the church is in Tupelo City limits, the other half is in Lee County.

“The storm was devastating by all means, but I think it has brought us closer together as a city and county and certainly as a community when you have neighbors pitching in and helping neighbors and sometimes strangers helping neighbors and strangers helping strangers.”

Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves thanked first responders for their efforts in the days and weeks after the EF 3 tornado.
Among those in the audience was Jimmy Henry, pastor of Auburn Baptist Church, which set up a command center for first responders in the aftermath of the tornado. He says there are many lessons learned from the storm.

“God receives all the glory, through the difficulty, He allows us , in those difficult times, to see that there is something greater that can come out of those difficulties, and we’ve seen that here, seen how we’ve come together, we’ve seen how we’ve grown.”

Host pastor Danny Robbins says the cooperative effort between city and county leaders is a great example for everyone.

“Just watching our city leaders and county leaders allow God to lead in the forefront of this has been very refreshing.”

“Cedar Grove United Pentecostal suffered minor damage, but it has all been repaired. Now, at the bottom of the hour, a ceremony will start here in the Joyner neighborhood as residents mark the one year anniversary of the tornado.”