AUBURN -- A small congregation stood in a circle on a South Street sidewalk, holding hands while praising Jesus and singing.

An hour before, just as the Sunday noon services were beginning, part of the ceiling collapsed in the back of the Soul Healing Ministries.

"We heard a rumbling, and we saw the dust," the Rev. Chester Seals said. The pastor likened the dust cloud to images of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when the Twin Towers fell.

An orange sign hangs on the door of the small store-front church, 10 South St., showing the Auburn Code Enforcement office deemed the property unfit for occupation until the owner's architect can inspect and repair the ceiling.

The Auburn Fire Department responded and blocked off South Street, between Loop Road and Genesee Street for less than an hour. No injuries were reported.

Building owner Tony Piccolo blamed excess water in the ceiling and second-story floor from efforts to douse a fire years ago for the cave in, but said the problem is confined to a small area. After the 1999 fire, he replaced the first and third floor, but didn't think the second floor needed work.

Read the full report in Monday's edition of The Citizen.