WHITMIRE — It has been almost one year since Shiloh Outreach Church Pastor Geneva Ware opened her church doors and discovered a portion of her church ceiling falling in.

This week (March 25) the unimaginable happened, she and her husband Earl discovered the whole roof had fallen in.

In a previous interview from 2018, according to Ware, the church already had the roof fixed the prior year. At the time of the interview Ware said “What we discovered was that the company put roofing nails in the ceiling where it has no grip to actually hold up the sheetrock and because the company did not finish the job, the insurance company would not cover us.”

She added that, at the time, moisture from recent rains also caused more of the sheets to fall.

“We thought we had insulation because we paid the person for insulation, but we discovered that we didn’t have any insulation in there after the roof fell. As it continued to rain this week, because the moisture got into the attic, more of the sheets have fallen,” Ware said in 2018.

In an effort to repair the roof the church held a fundraiser in October 2018 and were able to raise enough money to popcorn the ceiling.

Now, what was already a safety concern for the congregation, is now an even bigger concern as the church is once again faced with the decision of how to repair their roof.

Despite seeing her church in its current condition, she said this was only a “temporary setback.”

“I need the community to reach out more this time than they did last time,” she said.

Ware has kept this same attitude since last year.

“I just want the people in Newberry to know that I can trust them to go along with me to do as the Scripture says, if they love the Lord just as much as I do and they believe what the Scripture says, not to do evil, but to do good,” she said.

Any help will be accepted and people can contact Deacon Earl Ware at 803-271-4613 or Geneva Ware at 803-944-0217 if they would like to lend a hand.

Shiloh Outreach Church will continue on with services as normal, except a different location. On April 14 and April 21 church services will be held at the Whitmire Community Center at 11 a.m.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help repair the roof. To make a contribution visit https://www.gofundme.com/help-rebuild-god039s-house.

The church first experienced issues in May 2018 after a portion of the ceiling fell in. Now, in 2019, the whole roof has collapsed.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Roof2.jpgThe church first experienced issues in May 2018 after a portion of the ceiling fell in. Now, in 2019, the whole roof has collapsed. Kelly Duncan | The Newberry Observer

On March 25, Geneva Ware and her husband Earl discovered the church roof had completely fallen in. The next three church services will be held at the Whitmire Community Center at 11 a.m.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Roof1.jpgOn March 25, Geneva Ware and her husband Earl discovered the church roof had completely fallen in. The next three church services will be held at the Whitmire Community Center at 11 a.m. Kelly Duncan | The Newberry Observer

A GoFundMe page has since been created to help the church repair the roof.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Roof3.jpgA GoFundMe page has since been created to help the church repair the roof. Kelly Duncan | The Newberry Observer

Geneva Ware, right, and husband Earl on the steps of Shiloh Outreach Church.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Roof4.jpgGeneva Ware, right, and husband Earl on the steps of Shiloh Outreach Church. Kelly Duncan | The Newberry Observer

By Kelly Duncan

kduncan@championcarolinas.com

Reach Kelly Duncan at 803-768-3123 ext. 1868 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.