Congregants at Creator Lutheran Church are cleaning up Tuesday after a large tree crashed through the roof of their multipurpose room during Monday night’s windstorm.

The tree punched a hole through the roof of the church, setting off the sprinkler system and leaving an estimated 3 or 4 inches of water throughout the building.

Damage is estimated at more than $100,000.

Terri Heckworth, director of youth ministries, was the first to get a phone call from the church’s alarm company. Heckworth said the call came at about 10:17 p.m. informing her that the alarm had been set off.

“I was coming here expecting a fire,” she said.

Heckworth said she looked around the building, but didn’t see any damage other than the water on the floor until she opened the door to the multi-purpose room.

“We opened the door and it was a rushing sound,” she said. “Then we saw the ceiling.”

Churchgoers, however, are counting their blessings that despite the damage, the church’s sanctuary was saved, as were all instruments and computers.

“Our sanctuary has been spared and that will be back to normal,” said Pastor Kim Laterell, as he surveyed the large hole in the roof.

Laterell said there will be “some pretty major roof repair” in the church’s future, but said there may be a positive outcome from the damage.

“Sometimes an accident like this has a way of pulling the congregation together,” he said.

Already, volunteers swarmed the church, helping with clean-up measures, even as workers prepared to fix the roof and large fans and dryers hummed from every corner of the building.

Laterell said work on repairs was beginning Tuesday afternoon and that the church would be open as normal, though some youth events may be canceled for the next few days.

“We were really lucky,” said office administrator Julie Ehle. “We were really fortunate it’s just structural stuff and didn’t happen while anyone was here.”