Severe storms impacted two USMB congregations in eastern South Dakota May 12, where a derecho, or large cluster of thunderstorms, brought straight-lined winds exceeding 100 miles per hour in some places.
Stuart Curry, pastor of Salem MB Church near Freeman, S.D., reported damage to his house and other buildings on his property near Dolton, S.D.
“Not sure how to put it (into) words,” Curry wrote in a Facebook post sharing photos of the damage. “My heart is broken. But God is sovereign.”
The Curry family is safe and temporarily staying in Freeman while cleaning the damage.
Bethesda Church in Huron sustained water damage when the storm blew shingles off the roof of its original sanctuary built in 1971 and now used as the church fellowship room.
Volunteers spent less than three hours repairing the damage, according to a church Facebook post.
South Dakota governor Kristi Noem issued a State of Emergency in response to the storm, which affected as many as 28 counties and left two people dead in South Dakota and a third in Minnesota.
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor. She joined the CL staff in September 2017 with six years of experience as a professional journalist. Shafer is an award-winning writer, having received three 2016 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence and an Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals award in 2022. Shafer graduated from Tabor College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in Communications/Journalism and Biblical/Religious Studies. She and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
