Last updated on December 30th, 2020 at 08:15 pm
A group of churchgoers were amazed to discover their piano intact despite the building being destroyed by a tornado – and promptly rallied around for a sing song.
Powerful footage shows how the moment provided a local community with a message of hope.
Their church had been completely obliterated by a tornado that tore through Chattanooga, Tennessee.
But after the storm passed, and churchgoers rushed to inspect the damage, they discovered their piano was still left standing and perfectly preserved, leading them to break out in song.
Members of the Cornerstone Apostolic Church stood around the instrument while beams, roofing and debris lay on the floor beside them.
The church’s minster of music, DaRon Ackerson, 32, played the piano while members of the community sang to the tune.
A representative for the church, Lauren Sloan, said that initially the piano was not visible amongst the rubble – but as the church’s family began to dig, they noticed the instrument was still standing.
Lauren Sloan said: “The video has been received as a message of hope.
“Messages from all over the country and countries around the world have poured in as they are impacted by the video and the hope they feel when they watch the video.
-Scroll down to see video below-
“The message we hope others take from watching the video is that there is hope in the midst of a storm.
“Our hope is in the Lord.
“The church is not simply a building where we meet, but it is a body and a community of people.”
Cornerstone Church was hit by a devastating F-3 tornado the evening of April 12, and the following day, Easter Sunday, its members found the building in ruins.
Members worked together to remove the sheet rock, metal framing and insulation from the piano, which had previously belonged to the church’s founding pastor Joel Austin and his wife, Melba Austin.
Having uncovered the instrument, DaRon decided that he would check to see if it still was functioning.
And to their amazement it did, with churchgoer Wendy Speer capturing the emotional moment when DaRon began to play and those around the piano started to sing – and were visibly choked up by the moment.
Story courtesy of T&T Creative Media.