a destroyed church after several tornados swept through Alabama

Got trouble? Have faith, say residents of America’s most religious state

COVID-19 may shutter their sanctuaries, and tornadoes may destroy their homes. But for many Alabamians, their faith remains a mighty fortress.

The Ragan Chapel Methodist Church was destroyed in a series of tornadoes that swept through Ohatchee, Alabama, and killed five people on March 25, 2021. “With all the stuff going with COVID-19 you can get down, and maybe this was sent to pick our faith back up: people from all over the state and other states, people don’t even speak English and they’re helping,” said the church’s pastor Danny Poss.
Published April 16, 2021
9 min read

Candice Clark-Eaton was ready for a vacation. After a year of keeping herself and her two sons safe from COVID-19, as well as checking in on her senior parents and juggling a hybrid schedule of in-person and remote work, she finally got a chance to slip away and meet her boyfriend in Charleston, South Carolina.

She knew bad weather was coming, so she quickly dropped off her sons at her parents’ home— less than two miles from her house in Wellington, Alabama—and managed to get on the road ahead of the storm. But only 90 minutes into her journey, she got a call from a friend back in Wellington.

A tornado had ripped through her neighborhood. “It looks pretty bad, Candice,” her

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