The roof of the fellowship hall of Calvary Chapel International Worship Center in Severn collapsed Wednesday afternoon, most likely from the weight of the snow, Anne Arundel County fire officials said.

There were no injuries, said Battalion Chief Steve Thompson.

Baltimore Sun colleague Andrea F. Siegel reports the details:

“We have a school in there,” said Pastor Shawn Murphy, who said the congregation and school families are blessed that no one was inside. “We did have a couple of classrooms in there, and I’m told that two of our classrooms collapsed also.”

The structure, a large hall of about 60 feet by 100 feet, is a multipurpose area, and is home to the church’s 90-student school, Calvary Chapel Christian Academy, which run from kindergarten through 12th grade, he said. Students eat lunch in the fellowship hall, he said.

Because school is closed due to snow through Friday and closed on Monday for President’s Day, school and church officials have several days to make contingency plans for the school, the Rev. Murphy said.

He called the collapse of the structure built in 1986 “a challenge for our congregation,” and said “The church family will come together. It’s not the hard time that hit you, it’s how you respond to those hard times.”

He was emailing church members to tell them about the roof collapse and offer a comforting message of faith, “The Bible tells us all things work together for the good,” he said.

He did not expect to have more information until after county building inspectors visit the site, which could be as early as Thursday.

The collapse was called in at 1:33 p.m. by someone who lives nearby. The roof is slightly pitched, coming to a peak in the center, Thompson said.

The church’s food ministry and housing counseling programs will continue to operate from a separate building and a trailer on the property respectively, he said.

Calvary Chapel describes itself on its Web site as "a New Testament Church recognizing the 5-fold ministry gifts in operation. We have a vision to build, as Nehemiah did, a church within whose walls Reconciliation, Restoration, and Revival will take place!"