LADY LAKE, Fla. (AP) – Tornado victims and their supporters turned out for Sunday service at a church that was demolished in the killer storms that waylaid central Florida, trying to stay optimistic about the long recovery ahead.

The cleanup that began not long after Friday’s destruction took a brief pause as the faithful and others gathered under bright sun and clear skies at what was the Lady Lake Church of God. Its splintered remains have become a rallying point in this rural area hit hard by the three tornadoes that killed 20 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

A gospel choir sang and clapped on a makeshift stage where the church’s broken cross was propped up next to an American flag.

“It’s sad, because you know, you think, ‘Next Sunday, I’m going to go to church, but it’s not there any more.’ But the building can be replaced. We still have the family of people,” said Joy Newton, 53, whose home in The Villages retirement community nearby had no damage.

Governor Crist, handling his first natural disaster since taking office last month, attended Sunday’s service, having canceled plans to attend the Super Bowl on Sunday night in Miami. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league planned an observance for the victims during pregame ceremonies.

The recovery began in earnest Saturday, when Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders said he did not expect to find any more victims and President Bush designated four counties disaster areas eligible for millions of dollars in aid.

National Guard troops, neighbors and residents cleaned up in the rain, pulling blue tarps over houses that still had walls in this area about 50 miles north of Orlando. Showers soaked roofless homes and piles of twisted aluminum siding, belongings, tree limbs and lumber.

Victims from the second-deadliest series of tornadoes in state history ranged from a 92-year-old man to 17-year-old Brittany May, killed by a falling tree that crushed her bedroom.

Forecasters said Saturday that at least three tornadoes, with winds as high as 165 mph, hit between 3 and 4 a.m. Friday, when few people were awake to hear tornado warnings on radio and TV.

Mr. Bush’s disaster declaration for Lake, Sumter, Seminole and Volusia counties also frees up loans and other assistance to individuals. Early estimates showed at least $68 million in property losses and about 1,300 homes and buildings damaged or destroyed.

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Associated Press writers Jim Ellis and Travis Reed in Lake County and Brent Kallestad in Sumter County contributed to this report.