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THE GALES blew the windows in on 8 January 2005. It was a Saturday morning,
remembers Pam Whittaker, one of the churchwardens at St Barnabas's, Hattersley,
in Chester diocese. "But the congregation rallied round from
the start, and on Sunday we started worshipping in the church hall."
They rallied round generously with donations as well, as did the Rotary
Club, the undertakers, the British Legion, Tameside Borough Council, and many
more. The Roman Catholics offered the use of their church building should they
need it. "Support, love, and prayers came our way, and we raised £40,000."
The whole church wall needed strengthening, and new thought given to the
huge windows; and they seized the opportunity to add a porch, Mrs Whittaker
says. The builders moved in last August, and all was completed almost within a
year from when the damage happened.
"We had a vision for the future, and it all came to glorious fruition when
we worshipped for the first time in 14 months in the completed church. Nehemiah
became our beacon of light: 'Let us rebuild.' And we did."