It was the fall of 2011 when Hurricane Irene blew through Beaufort County, claiming many structures via flooding and wind damage. In Aurora, a small church that stood as a pillar of the community for over 100 years was among the structures destroyed during the storm. However, last weekend, the church celebrated the start of a new chapter in its history.

Dublin Grove Original Free Will Baptist Church held a note-burning ceremony Sunday, celebrating the church’s debt payoff after the rebuild of its church facility. Members of the church came together for the ceremony and a dinner afterwards, according to head deacon Harvey Brothers.

“We burnt the note that had the debt we had paid off,” Brothers said.

The original church building, lost due to water damage from Irene’s flooding, was unable to be salvaged. The building was constructed in 1875 and would’ve celebrated its 138^th year in 2016.

Brothers said the 70-member congregation was able to build a new $300,000-facility on the same site through donations from the community, as well as a $50,000 loan from the Free Will Baptist Church’s finance group. The new church was completed about a year ago, and during its construction, the congregation only missed one service when the church was unreachable due to high water after the storm, Brothers said. Until the new building was finished, the church held a service or two under a pine tree on the church grounds then moved into the fellowship hall to host services, a structure that was saved because it wasn’t as old, Brothers said.

“In a situation like that, it was a miracle to us,” Brothers said. “We owe it all to the good Lord. We don’t pat ourselves on the back for doing His work. It was a miracle for a little community church like ours to build something that nice, that quick and get it paid off. We just finished paying (the debt) off about a month ago.”

Throughout the transition from old to new, church leaders sawed an old log used to build the original church and found that it was made from a tree that was over 300 years old. The congregation repurposed a cross section from the old church in its new facility as a nod to its past, according to Brothers.

Brothers said the congregation is hopeful for the church’s future and longevity due, in part, to a strong presence of young members and thanks the community for coming together to help its recovery. The congregation also has hope and faith in its leader and 11-year pastor, Earl Sadler, Brothers said.

“We’re excited,” Sadler said. “It was a hard time, but it was a great time. In the grand scheme of things, we recognized this as an opportunity to grow and get stronger and come together more in the Lord. The whole congregation had that attitude the whole time. We are turning this chapter in the life of the church. It was a celebration, and we’re looking forward to the next chapter. God has provided us with a nice facility, and we’re looking forward to using it to help the community and in the next chapter of our church.”