MOSS POINT, Miss. (WLOX) – For more than a year, members of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Moss Point regularly gathered at the Family Life Church next door to their church for their Sunday service.

On Sunday, however, members could be found marching to the main shrine, where they are back on regular duty after 16 months of reconstruction.

It was a sight that church member Dorothy Shaw took great pleasure in witnessing.

“It’s a joyful and exciting day,” Shaw said.

For Shaw, the fact that the church welcomed its members back inside after a long and drawn-out rebuilding process made the wait worth it, despite the pain that came with it.

“It was a long process because in construction there are always things that come up that we don’t know about, but the administrators worked very hard to make it happen and it took longer than we expected,” Shaw said. “The construction was horrible and sometimes deplorable.”

While some businesses and residents are busy rebuilding what has been lost, Shaw says the resilient spirit of Moss Point and its residents can be found within the four walls of St. Paul.

“This church has been here for more than 170 years. We’ve seen tornadoes, hurricanes and other things happen. This is a very resilient church and city, so we knew there was no question after the tornado about what we would do. We knew we would be back in this building and the church, but it took time and a lot of hard work,” Shaw said. “We will be here for another 170 years. We want members and people to come worship with us to see who we are and what we do, so great things are ahead.”

The church has been around for 175 years and members say they are looking for more than 100 years.

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