SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Parishioners of St. Lucy's Church remember the Labor Day storm.

"As the church was blown away, so was I. I mean, I couldn't believe the steeple lying there in the street," said parishioner Arnie Artessa.

"It was devastating to walk in the back door of church; you couldn't get in the front door, of course. To walk in the back door of church and just see the total chaos and rubble and dust and dirt," said parishioner Mary Ann Dobe.

Ten years after the Labor Day storm heavily damaged Saint Lucy's church, the parish gathered to reflect on how it inspired the community.

Out of the remaining rubble, an altar was built, to show the parish moved past the damage.

"Our steeple is broken but our spirit is strong. And the spirit just kept moving through the months and weeks and days that followed," said Dobe.

After the storm St. Lucy's Church was rebuilt and reorganized, and parishioners say the lessons they learned during those trying times are still with them today.

"We realized the building, although beautiful and important to what we did, it was about the people. The people were most important," said Artessa.

"I think the destruction and the processes that followed created a tighter, more loving, more outreaching community for us. We realized that we loved each other, that we needed each other, and the community at large needed us," said Dobe.

St. Lucy's was rebuilt without its steeple. Instead, the insurance money was put towards community programs to help those in need.