Handsboro Presbyterian Church
(USA)

Hurricane Katrina

 

Handsboro Presbyterian Church dedicated its first church building in 1882. In August of 1889, the church experienced its first August catastrophe - the building was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in 1891. Until Hurricane Katrina hit it head on on August 29, it had existed peacefully and productively in the same location for 114 years. This was another August catastrophe. As a historic building, it achieved publicity through the media when its steeple blew off the roof and left crumpled at the side of the building by the strong winds of Katrina. The church looks uncharacteristic without it, but the spirit of the church is still strong. The steeple will be replaced and repairs will be made and the church will go on.

 

The Damage

The steeple is gone, leaving a hole in the top of the roof.
Shingles were torn off the roof in places.

Water came in and wet the ceiling, causing water damage in the right rear of the sanctuary.

 

Panes of glass were broken by the wind, leaving broken glass on the floor in quite a few places. Windows are damaged.

Shutters were damaged all around the church.

 

Large trees were down and large limbs were all over the front lawn. These are the remains of what was down on the lawn.

The picket fence was damaged in places where things fell on it.

 

One of the downed trees in our yard.

This is a view of the side of the church before anything was cleaned up.

This is the side of the church after cleanup, with the rubble waiting to be picked up.

The Angels

Due to the fact that most of the church members were dealing with their own losses, we had not gotten around to cleaning up the grounds. According to the man who lives across the street from the church, sometime around September 8th or 9th, some angels in the form of men wearing T-shirts that were all alike swept in, worked furiously cutting up the trees, dragging them and their downed branches to the curb, and cleaned the lawn. They left as fast as they came, refusing to even take water from the neighbor.
. We found out from another source that they were part of a disaster relief team that was going around helping clear off property. We do not know for sure who they were, but that they might have been contractors from Orlando, Florida.

We feel that they were sent by God and came here to help and do some good. They probably feel that they don't need public recognition, but they should know that we appreciate what they did and thank them from the bottoms of our hearts.

This is the lawn after it was cleaned by unknown angels.

 

Church Services

Everyone was finding out how each other fared with the hurricane.

Services were held the first Sunday after the hurricane hit. We met in the Sanctuary sans air conditioning. It was Communion Sunday, and there were about 10 people present besides our pastor.

The next Sunday, when electricity was restored, pews and the piano were moved to the educational building where the air conditioner was cooling the congregation. Dress was casual; even the pastor wore short sleeves and slacks. Spirits were high. Everyone was glad to see everyone else. We had four visitors from Georgia who were on the Coast to help with the hurricane relief efforts.

Business

A congregational meeting was held after the service to inform everyone about the damage, the progress of the insurance claim, and the fact that our treasurer had left town under extreme stress, saying that the checkbook and all of the church checks had been lost in the storm. Our Clerk of Session stated that this meant that there would be a delay in being able to pay the bills,and with bank computers not up and running, no way to start a new account, order new checks, or even know which bills had been paid and which ones were due. This has been a major frustration, but one of many setbacks that the people of the Gulf Coast have had to deal with.

Offers of Help

Almost immediately, offers of help began arriving.

Overlook Presbyterian Church from Mobile, Alabama, is sent a group to the church on Saturday, September 19. They cooked lunch for the church members and friends. They worked out in the heat raking the lawn and cutting trees in the back, and scoured our sanctuary after sweeping up glass. They brought buckets filled with cleaning supplies that were passed around to neighbors, they brought pallets of water, and went to homes in the neighborhood to give assistance. They gave us a generous monetary donation that was greatly needed at this point in time for emergence expenses and basic operating expenses.
Not only that, they ministered to our souls. We will be receiving blessings from this church group for a long time in ways that people will never know.

Saturday, September 17, was the day the crew from Overlook Presbyterian Church came over to work and help with storm damage. Only a few of this bunch were our own people, so you can see how many came to help us.

Norma Loposser hugs Doug Resler, pastor of Overlook, as she thanks
him and his church for all that they have done for us.

A good meal and fellowship was had by all on the Overlook Work Day. We got to know a lot of wonderful people who will be our friends for a long time. They had great food, too!

 

(To view more photos from the Overlook Workday, click Here)

 

Maple Grove Assembly of God Church from Battleground, Washington and Shiloh Fellowship Church in Vancouver, Washington, sent food and clothing that was delivered by Ralph Loposser's brother (Ralph is an Elder). Food was given away to neighbors and used to stock the church pantry and clothes closet.

Pastor David Hernden from Lake Elsinore, California and Lonny Thompson from Cordova, Alabama donated their time to cut trees and help clean up parishioner's yards.

New Hope Presbyterian Church has a member who is a country music minister who has cut a record, and he plans to donate part of his profits as a fundraiser for the church.

Cambridge-Oakland Presbyterian Church, Jane Faggestad's home church, is asking how they can help.

First Presbyterian Church in Vero Beach, Florida and in Germantown, Tennessee are making inquiries as to how they can help.

Mission Presbyterian Church from Laguna Nigel, California, is going to collect and donate school kits for students who lost everything.

Pine Grove School PTO in Mobile, Alabama, gave a cash donation that was greatly appreciated.

We feel that our needs will be provided for, and we thank everyone who has contributed to our cause.

We are confident that we will recover from the damages and be a stronger, more viable church than ever before. We ask for your prayers and your support that we will grow in spirit and become a viable, serving church.

 

 

Update on Katrina in our Church (January 23, 2006) Much has been done since this original report. The Presbytery of Mississippi has set up offices in the upstairs area of the Fellowship Hall. They will be here for about two years coordinating rebuilding and recovery efforts. George and Linda Bates, from Natchez, are in charge. Thus far, the upstairs is in the process of being renovated. It has been cleared out, painted; bathrooms and showers have been installed, along with a washer and dryer; and just recently bunk beds have been built for the visiting recovery teams. New floors are being installed. They are a far cry from the sleeping bags, air mattresses and other types of beds used by the tireless workers. The roof has been replaced,and the broken picket fence that surrounds the grounds has been taken down, leaving only the posts remain. It needs to be noted that nobody is willing to even bid on rebuilding the fence as the pickets will have to be handmade because they are not available ready-made. Right now, most carpenters are working on much larger projects. Also, we have not been able to get bids on the steeple. Our kitchen has all new appliances, and a new upright freezer. A work crew this past week painted the Narthex, and it looks really nice, as the paint was badly peeling even before Katrina. Discussions are underway about the replacement and repair of the steeple and hopefully work will begin by spring.

 

 

 

Page originated September 16, 2005.