Pennsylvania church celebrates official grand reopening 5 years after it was devastated by Hurricane Ida

A prayer was answered for a church in Downingtown after it was devastated by Hurricane Ida five years ago. The congregation at Messiah Lutheran Church celebrated its official grand reopening Sunday. 

Pastor Timothy Knauss spoke with CBS News Philadelphia in a room that was once inundated with floodwaters as he shared his excitement for the long-awaited reopening.

Knauss also shared photos of the devastation from the hurricane, which showed chairs overturned in the sanctuary and pools of water that damaged every corner of the facility. 

"Part of our building was built in the 50s, which had a basement in it. It was an old strip mall that we had converted over time to classrooms and offices and we pumped a quarter million gallons of water into the basement the next day or so," he said. "That was quite a week."

Knauss said his congregation held services at other churches during the rebuilding process. He said it's great to be back at the church after the final renovations were completed earlier this month. 

"We are so blessed and pleased to get through this," he said. 

Among the people at the celebration, Downingtown Mayor Erica Deuso, who said the reopening is a credit to the community who never lost hope the church would someday recover.

"We had people coming the day of the flood to help rip down dry wall [and] to help rip up carpet," Deuso said. "It's a testament to our town and good neighborhood spirit that allowed this to come about."

"My message today was even though we got all the bricks in place and the dry wall and the paint, it's not about the building, it's about the people," Knauss said.