TWISTER
Calvary Cathedral survived a killer tornado that hit downtown Ft. Worth. So did I.
By Bob Chochola
(Editor's Note: LEFT - The photo shows what remained of Calvary Cathedral's bell tower after a twister struck the church. See the remains of the stair wells hanging-on by a thread. BELOW - An areal photo of the Cathedral's wreckage in the aftermath of the storm.)
I met Pastor Bob Nichols shortly after Calvary Cathedral in Ft. Worth (the old building located just off of 7th Street west of downtown) was destroyed by a deadly tornado that hit the city on Mach 28th, 2000. It was a day that I will never forget.
I happened to be riding on a city bus in-bound from the west side as the thick black clouds began to roll-in. The bus lumbered along Camp Bowie Boulevard, right past the Montgomery Wards warehouse minutes before it was leveled. It would turn out to be the scene of the storm's first two fatalities. I came close enough to touch the Bank One and Cash America buildings that would suffer many millions of dollars in damage soon after my bus passed. I witnessed Calvary Cathedral get hit by the F-2 twister as I exited the bus at a stop in downtown - right next to the Bank One parking lot. I jumped in a taxi in front of the Bank One tower at 6:01 PM - the building was almost completely destroyed at 6:04 PM.
Lucky? No. Luck had nothing to do with it. Large panes of glass were stripped from Bank One and came crashing-down into the parking lot where I had been just three minutes earlier - "pieces" of glass weighing hundreds of pounds, razor-sharp shards of shattered windows as long as spears hurling from thirty floors above, heavy desks, chairs, conference tables, and file cabinets fell to the ground where I had been.
God was watching out for me that day, as He was for Calvary Cathedral's church family. The church building was devastated, but no one was badly hurt or killed. Praise God!
I was working for CBS News at the time and when the network asked me to serve as the executive producer on the Ft. Worth Tornado documentary project a few months later, I was naturally thrilled to do it. I had the opportunity to meet Pastor Bob Nichols when our main anchor man and managing editor Tracy Rowlett interviewed him on the roof of the totally gutted Calvary school building.
I followed Calvary Cathedral's story to the beautiful new church home off of I-35 near the Ft. Worth Stockyards and listen to Pastor Nichols' sermons on the radio (91.3 FM KDKR) every chance I get. Now I am pleased to include Calvary Cathedral's link on my web site, as well as a streaming broadcast of all regularly scheduled weekly services and archived services. They are my radio/web church home, when I cannot be with my own church family.
Pastor Bob Nichols and his wife, Joy, founded the church in 1964. They reach people of all nationalities and ages with the message of how to triumph in God's best. It is a non-denominational church that believes every person is valuable and precious to God. People of all faiths are welcome to come and grow in faith. During the summer of 1993, they hosted a metroplex-wide, six-week revival where over two-hundred churches were represented. Today revival fire continues to burn brightly. They have an evangelistic vision to reach our city, our nation, and our world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For more information about Calvary Cathedral, just click on the link below.
Regularly Scheduled Services on BOBZILLA.tv:
Sunday Morning Worship & Word 10:00 AM
Pre Service Prayer Sunday Night 6:00 PM
Sunday Night "Live" 6:30 PM
Pre Service Prayer Wednesday Night 6:30 PM
Wednesday Night "Power Service" 7:00 PM
