Members of the Holland United Church are busy assessing the damage after lightening struck the building earlier this month.

Chair David Drummond says they were very lucky that the local fire department responded as quickly as they did.

“The fire damage itself was restricted to the steeple. Consequently, because of the fire there is smoke and some water damage throughout the sanctuary. Since that fire that night we have had an adjuster in and they have brought in a renovator to gut the church, strip the walls to determine the total extent of the fire before we see what kind of an estimate there is on the damage.”

Drummond notes that there was no damage caused to the stained glass windows and pews inside the church.

While the congregation normally takes the summer off, Drummond hopes to have the building ready for services by mid-September.

He says other churches in the area have offered their buildings if repairs are not completed by that time.