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NATCHEZ — On Dec. 28, 2024, Bright Star Missionary Baptist Church sustained significant damage from a storm that moved through Natchez.

“It blew our steeple backward, which damaged our roof and removed some shingles. We had ceiling tiles fall down and leaks throughout our building,” said Pastor Irving Dean, who has led the church for the last 10 years.

It took the church’s insurance company about three weeks to make it out to Bright Star to assess the damage because of all of the other damage the storm caused in the city, Dean said. When they did, the church’s claim was denied.

“They brought an engineer out and said the damage was from work not done long ago, during a previous administration. I’ve been here 10 years, and we knew nothing about that,” Dean said.

Nonetheless, Dean and his congregation were left having to find a new way to make his church building operable again. He said church members patched the building as best they could, and the congregation of about 25 faithful continue to have monthly services there.

Still, Dean worries that the patch work is unsafe, and he has worked tirelessly to raise the money needed to repair it properly. Dean has estimates of that work costing $40,000.

On Sunday, about 25 churches of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Association met with the Bright Star congregation at the church at 509 Maple Street and brought donations that bring the grand total raised to date to $27,500, Dean said. Moderator for Sunday’s event was Melvin White of Pilgrim Baptist Church.

Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson attended the event and presented a plaque to the congregation and made a donation.

“We did a GoFundMe, which raised $5,000, and I have gone around to businesses — myself as pastor — and raised another $5,700,” Dean said.

The churches on Sunday added about $16,800 to that total.

“We now lack about $13,000,” Dean said.

Despite the fact that the church is more than 100 years old, it does not qualify for any type of historical grant because of the additions and changes that have been made to the original building, Dean said.

Any individual or business who wishes to contribute to the repairs at the church is welcome to get in touch with Pastor Dean at 601-579-5238 or email him at irvingdean@gmail.com.

“Anyone interested in helping, I will be happy to meet them at the church and show them the damage that needs to be fixed to bring it back to the state it should be in,” Dean said.

Donations can also be mailed to Bright Star Missionary Baptist Church at 91 Government Fleet Road, Natchez, MS, 39120.

“We certainly appreciate all of the businesses that have helped thus far to help us reach our goal,” Dean said. “These donations are greatly appreciated.”

Those wishing to contribute to the effort can also do so through GoFundMe by going to https://www.gofundme.com/f/restore-bright-star-baptist-church-roof.