There was a service of hope and healing in North Preston, N.S. on Sunday - the first Sunday service since a devastating fire damaged the community's St. Thomas United Baptist Church.

Firefighters from five stations were called to extinguish a stubborn blaze inside the church Wednesday morning.

No one was hurt, but the rear of the century-old, wooden building was left with a gaping, charred hole that reaches to the peak of the roof. Foul play is not suspected and the cause remains unclear.

The historic church has been the centre of both a spiritual and social gathering place for 160 years.

Sunday’s service was about healing, and coming together to cope after a challenging year for the congregation and community. The service was planned long before the fire.

Rev. Wallace Smith grew up in the church and now leads the congregation.

“To see a blaze is coming out of the back end of the church, it was devastating for a lot of us,” said Smith. "This is kind of a sad time for us, but you know we're coping with it and we're dealing with it and we're trying to get through it.”

"The service is a healing service in memory of the men, specifically men in our community who have lost their lives, specifically those who've lost their lives through homicide,” said Minister Al Johnson. “It’s a time for the church the congregation to come together and pray and support the families.”

The church is still waiting to hear about the extent of the damage and what it will cost to rebuild. Despite everything, they're also celebrating their blessings.

“We thank God because we could've lost the whole building,” said Smith.

The structure of the church still stands strong, much like their resolve to rise above the latest challenge .

“The future for us is whatever God has planned for us,” said Johnson “God has the vision and we were the people to carry out the mission and consistency with that vision.”

The congregation says they’ve also been overwhelmed with donations and offers to help rebuild the church.

They are looking forward to the day the doors will open for service once again. They believe the insurance will cover everything to re-open the doors in hopefully two to three months.

In the meantime, they will continue to come together at the local community centre.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Marie Adsett