Heavy snow collapses Downingtown church roof

The roof of a Downingtown church caved in Saturday under the weight of two feet of snow, leaving the pastor to live-stream Sunday's services from his living room and leaving a congregation of 1,600 without a place to worship.

Pastor Lee Wiggins of Calvary Fellowship said an alarm alerted a security company that sprinkers had gone off Saturday night. Wiggins drove through the blizzard to find the source of the alarm and walked into the 1,100-seat auditorium to find the roof collapsed.

"There's just this gaping hole in the roof, water from the fire sprinkler system was just flooding down the balcony, it sounded like a waterfall," he said.

Wiggins said restoration specialists have estimated the damage at $1 million. The auditorium can be cordoned off and Wiggins said next Sunday's services will be held in the church gymnasium.

On Sunday he sat in a chair in his living room and live-streamed services at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The church set up a fundraising page on its website and area churches and organizations have also been reaching out to see how they can help, Wiggins said.

"It's been a bright light in all of this," he said. "Seeing everyone coming together and caring about each other."