SUSSEX — A Waukesha County congregation displaced by a tornado earlier this week found a temporary home on Sunday when a nearby church opened its doors.
Lisbon Presbyterian Church suffered damage from a tornado Tuesday night, forcing its 19th-century sanctuary to close. In response, Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Sussex welcomed the displaced congregation for weekend services.
Watch: Why Lisbon Presbyterian congregants are thankful after a nearby Lutheran church opened its doors to them as they recover from tornado damage.
"I made the immediate call to go, 'Our house is your house. Whatever you need,'" Pastor Matthew Rose said.
Rose preached a Presbyterian service for the first time in his career in honor of the guests, complete with Lisbon Presbyterian bulletins. He delivered a sermon on the Road to Emmaus.
"The church is not the building. It's the people inside it," Rose said.
Pastor Sara Knowles of Lisbon Presbyterian Church appreciated the gesture for her congregation.
"I thought it was so kind, and I put myself especially in the minds of my parishioners, to think about them seeing their own bulletin," Knowles said.
Carole Haubner, a congregant at Lisbon Presbyterian, attended the service after the shock of seeing her longtime church damaged.
"My husband and I were married in that church in 1976... It was shock. I mean it's been there so long," Haubner said. "This was nice, very nice."
Knowles said the church is still working on more permanent arrangements for services over the next couple of weeks and months as it waits for repairs.
"I'll be back. Our church is going to be back," Haubner said.
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