By midafternoon, church members at Central Baptist Church had pumped an estimated 300 gallons of water out of the sanctuary on Georgia Avenue.

And Pastor Maurice Wheat made a decision he didn’t want to have to make — no church on Sunday.

“It was like a lake in the sanctuary,” said Gary Pruden. “We’re going to have to get the board together and fix it, save a dollar here and dollar there.”

Said Wheat: “We’re going to be calling an emergency business meeting.”

Pruden said one of the problems encountered was in the ductwork of the church, which became inundated following widespread flooding throughout the city this morning.

The decision to cancel services weighed heavily on the pastor, who has been minister of the church for 40 years. “It’s something I don’t like to do, cancel church.”

Wheat said, however, “The Lord is in control. My belief is he is trying to tell us something. The question is are we paying attention?”

Wheat said he hoped the church would be dried out by Wednesday so services could resume.