Christmas Day Storm Blows Out Church Exterior in Mobile, Ala.

(Photo Credit: AL.com)The exterior of Trinity Episcopal Church in Mobile, Ala., is seen in a video still on December 25, 2012.

Trinity Episcopal Church in midtown Mobile, Alabama was heavily damaged on Christmas morning Tuesday s a result of a severe storm that hit the city.

The storm blew out part of the front of the church's exterior brick wall and collapsed part of its roof, according to reports.

No one was hurt.

Church members retrieved linens and silver from the building while moving prayer books and hymnals out of the way, according to Al.com. Groceries and frozen gumbo were loaded up from the food pantry to another location to be used to feed the homeless.

The Rev. Bailey Normam, rector, says the church is waiting for engineers to evaluate the stability of the building.

"We can't worry about anything else until it's done," he said. He said the church had received offers from various other churches but did not know yet when the membership would gather the coming Sunday.

The Rt. Rev. Philip Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast was also on hand to assess the damage.

He said he hoped people would "give thanks to God that this did not happen the day before" during a Christmas eve celebration.

"Ultimately, property is property. People are the important thing for me," he said.

Norman told TV station Local 15 that the church's steeple was knocked off by Hurricane Frederick in 1979 and it has had other damage. The church recently got a multi-million dollar renovation, he said.

"This church has been through a lot, and it's going to come back. It's going to be a lot of work, but we will be back," he said.

Copyright © 2013 Ecumenical News