WASHINGTON – In the insurance world, extreme weather events such as tornadoes are often referred to as "acts of God."

Parishioners of Our Lady of Grace parish have been spared from the brunt of active weather that swept through Angus, Ont., on June 17. 

HENRYVILLE, Ind. - As one of the few buildings in town to come through intense storms March 2 nearly intact, St. Francis Xavier Church has become a natural staging area for relief efforts, community organizing and prayer.

Four days after a devastating tornado hit, volunteers and professionals used St. Xavier, the nearby Henryville Community Church and a community center as bases for people trying to put their lives back together.

The town of about 1,600 was one of several in the region to be largely destroyed by a wave of storms that created dozens of tornadoes across 11 states March 2 and 3.

RIDGWAY, Ill - Elizabeth Schmitt, who planned to get married in May at St. Joseph Church in Ridgway, never imagined she would be picking up debris from the gothic church that was completely destroyed in the Feb. 29 tornado.

Tornadoes swept through parts of the Midwest and the South, killing at least a dozen people and injuring more than 100 in Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee.

"It gives a whole new meaning to destruction," Schmitt said as she pulled on her gloves to continue cleaning up the church property.