Where there was once seating for parishioners, scaffolding now stands to give contractors access to the ceiling. Except for the painting of Jesus, all the artwork is off of the walls, much of it destroyed in the March 17 fire that gutted the building and also destroyed equipment and furniture inside the church's sanctuary and fellowship hall.

The church's 100 members have been forced to rent time at other local churches. The Rev. Falefasa F. Teo, pastor, said, however, his congregation has stuck together.

"We hope that our place gets fixed sooner rather than later so we can come in here and do our services again," Teo said.

The church--one of several Samoan churches in the South Bay--has been at 305 E. Washington Ave. since the congregation bought the building in 1987. The building itself is more than 60 years old. Teo said he's been with the church for 18 years, and has been a resident of Sunnyvale for the past three years.

The fire has done more than just displace worshippers. Sound equipment was destroyed, and the entire church building has been closed, which means the choir cannot practice. The congregation can't hold its twice-monthly bake sales after Sunday services; and because they can no longer have regular Sunday services, members have to worship whenever they can rent space, which costs some $1,600 a month.

"It's been kind of hard, because we used to have our services here in the morning, but we have to have afternoon services now," Teo said. "That's the only time we can use the other churches." He said the services are only seeing about 75 percent of their usual turnout because many of the church members work during the day.

Contractors estimate the damage at $323,000, and it could take up to four months before the building is again safe for worship.

Teo said the fire started on top of the building during some roofing work, so insurance should cover some of the cost. He hopes anything not covered by insurance can be covered through fundraising or donations from members of the church and community.