Just more than a month ago, Pastor Kenny Davis, his wife, Laura, and their three children left the North Carolina community where they served to answer a call to lead an active, friendly church in Troy. The family of four moved into the parsonage of Bybee’s Road Baptist Church and its head of household had barely grown accustomed to the congregation’s way of outreach and Sunday service before disaster dawned.

“Homecoming was the week after my first Sunday (at Bybee’s Road), that was a big event, and then the earthquake was right after that,” says Davis, who then launched into emergency preparedness mode as Hurricane Irene threatened Virginia, and only days later stepped outside his new home’s door to see treetops churned by the whipping wind.

As he recalls, the sky was incredibly dark just after six in the evening: “I didn’t see a funnel cloud, but the debris coming off the tree tops in the forest were circulating in the air,” he says. “Another church member saw it pass by their home, which is a little northeast of the church. By that time the funnel cloud was distinguishable.”

The National Weather Service has since confirmed that video footage taken of the cone-shaped cloud that swept through the churchyard on Tuesday, Sept. 5 was, in reality, a weak tornado.

The video that was filmed by a member of Bybee’s shows the funnel cloud as it moved north in the direction of Interstate 64. “In it, you can see the funnel form, dissipate and reform several times,” he notes.

“All of the weather has provided a lot for folks to joke about,” the pastor says. “There’s been a lot of good humor of folks kind of drawing parallels between my coming and this happening—all in fun.”

More serious is the damage that’s been done to the church and its yard. The tornado cost the parsonage a tree on its lot. In the churchyard, a large pine fell and a great oak tree was twisted and cracked from the base “up about 10 feet.” Each has been removed as a safety precaution.

“Damage to the church itself included some siding and trim torn from the front of the church and back of the steeple,” says the pastor, whose first weeks in Fluvanna’s ministry included close cooperation with members of the congregation and its insurance company (to make necessary repairs).

Trash cans kept in a large plywood structure at the back of the church took a spin, as well. “That whole unit was lifted up and took down the fence around it,” Davis says. “A small area of shingles were taken away, but the tar paper under that was intact so we did not get any water damage from the rains that followed for a day or so afterward.”

On a more solemn note, a small number of tombstones affected in the cemetery will need realignment.

Despite the wreckage, Davis keeps a positive outlook. “I think between what was planned and what was unplanned all happening right at the outset it is kind of a mixed blessing. We received a very warm welcome when we got here and I will say that bonds that were sure to have formed anyway may have solidified a little faster just because of [the string of natural disasters.].”

While repairs are made, the church can still hold its regular services on Sundays: worship at 10 a.m. and a Youth Program at 6:30 p.m. Call Davis for more information about these and other events at (434) 589-8529 or visit http://bybeechurch.org.