WATERTOWN, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - In May, the roof of a Watertown church caught fire following a lightning strike. With severe smoke and water damage, the congregation began the long process to repair their building , while worshipping elsewhere. This morning was a big milestone in their rebuild.

Caution tape, boarded up sanctuary windows and over two hundred chairs in the fellowship hall are not a typical backdrop for a Sunday service at Hosanna Lutheran Church, but Pastor Craig Werling said this congregation was just thankful to be back. Their return to the building on Sunday was exactly five months to the day that the lightning struck.

“God has a plan and God has a sense of humor, I think, so it’s appropriate,” Werling joked.

They might not be fully back to normal, but to Hosanna

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