For the last six months, Pastor Scotty Gurulé has received compliments from Facebook friends about his church’s remodel.
Except it wasn’t a typical remodel.
In June, a storm tore the roof off of Covenant Generations Church; destroyed its lighting, sound and audiovisual equipment and soaked its carpets, chairs and walls — just one month after the church paid off its mortgage.
Jamie Gurulé, who co-pastors the church with her husband, told the Star in June that when the storm hit the church, neighbors said “it sounded like a bomb went off.”
Pieces of the roof flew down the street.
Finally, after a month of meeting in a tent and then five months of squeezing into the fellowship hall, the congregation moved back to its usual space on Sunday, Jan. 1.
“Even when it was uncomfortable we didn’t lose anybody,” said Scotty Gurulé. “It was almost unbearably uncomfortable, and people don’t like to be crammed. You need elbow room. But they didn’t quit.”
On Wednesday, Jan. 18, the church at 2550 N. Tucson Blvd. celebrated its reopening at its evening service with a small festival. On Sunday, Jan. 22, the church will celebrate its 14 years.
The repairs are approaching $500,000, Gurulé said. Insurance covered most of the renovations, but the church is contributing about $50,000 of its own cash for some upgrades.
Redoing the stucco on the exterior of the building is the final step, and the church expects that to be complete within 30 days.
“It has been a journey,” Gurulé said.
