Pastor Claims Real Life "Miracle" During Queens Tornado

The tornado ripped the steeple from the church, sending it crashing across the street. (From reader Elaine Cheung)

Pastor Ted Chase of Flushing's George's Episcopal Church is claiming divine intervention during Thursday's tornado in Queens. The twister ripped the steeple of the church from the bell tower and sent it flying across the street. Luckily, nobody was harmed. He told the Daily News, "We believe it was a miracle."

Chase was in the bell tower trying to shutter the windows when he felt the tornado coming, but only had enough time to crouch down. He said, "The tower didn't just topple. The steeple was picked up and thrown across the street. I've never seen anything like it." But Chase wouldn't let a little tornado keep his congregants from God, and held Mass as scheduled just an hour after the storm.

Congregants believe two miracles were granted to the church that day, as a donation box that was thought to have been stolen resurfaced beneath the tower damage. One churchgoer said, "I can't explain that one, but it's another thing to be thankful for."

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By Jaya Saxena in News on September 18, 2010 5:35 PM

Comments [rss]

chlyn

I guess the nice lady from Mechanicsburg wasn't worth a miracle. :(

JacqueMehoff

he should be saying why didn't the Korean church get eff'ed up? out of all the churches in Flushing, why his? guess it was a miracle.

isn't this the religion that has one of those crazy dichotomy during the witch trials?

CR

Did everyone who posted above get diddled by a priest/rabbi/imam/their uncle when they were younger? What is everyone so angry about?

John L

I was wondering the same thing!

I mean if you don't believe that's ok

But if being a nonbeliever means being angry, bitter and resentful then I'll just continue being a believer.

There's a lot of things I don't believe in but I don't find the need to disparage other's beliefs and be so disrespectful.

You might say "luckily no one got hurt" so the pastor says "it's a miracle no one got hurt" what's the big deal?

dadoc

Hey, the guy is not annoying me with his belief, if he's a good guy with a good life and good intentions, more power and good luck. I just don't get the "We got smitten by a disaster, but Bog is great 'cuz one person survived, ergo miracle!" stuff that just rankles my reason sensors. And to me, as there is no verifiable deity, a prophet is neither true nor false, just a prophet (beleiver in the unverifiable), by definition.

D.Lane

Perhaps Mr. Pastor can explain what form of "divine intervention" caused the deaths of six bible thumpers riding in a church van that crashed on the Thruway saturday afternoon.

God is a superstition. Pastor Ted is a false prophet.

dadoc

You wanna attempt to explain acts of nature teleologically as the act of some deity up there, Mr Pastor? Then what the heck did you do to have the Big Guy throw a tornado down on your church? It's as bad as these prayer vigils for trapped coalminers, or the "miraculous" survival of one multiple-trauma brain- dead kid in a mass disaster. Look at it the other way. If HE was there, and you were such good people, why did YOU get whacked? Credophiles just annoy the logic part of my brain.

Thomas C.

What kinda eff-ed up 'miracle' is that? If I chose to see the hand of god in this, I'd say god thought their steeple was an abomination, only he didn't hate the steeple enough to kill someone over it.

Thomas C.

What kind of "miracle" destroys a church? Assuming God exists, I think he was telling them he didn't like their steeple, but he didn't like it so much that he felt it necessary to kill somebody over it.