ALLENSTOWN, N.H. (AP) – They said prayers of thanks at Saint John the Baptist Church this weekend – because the church is still there.

The steeple took a direct hit from a lightning bolt during Mass Saturday afternoon, shaking up the congregation and knocking shingles off, but not igniting a fire.

“We lucked out, big time,” Fire Chief Everett Chaput said. “That steeple is about 125 feet tall, and our ladder only goes up 75.”

The faithful were just finishing up communion when firefighters rushed in and got them out of the 134-year-old church.

Elsewhere, ligtning hit a home in Hampton Falls, and trees fell at a campground in Weare and onto homes in Bedford and Deering.

Dime-sized hail also fell in the Manchester area during the afternoon storm.