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Note #7952 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

PDA sends $20,000 in hurricane relief
03412
September 29, 2003

PDA sends $20,000 in hurricane relief

Isabel did only minor damage to most Presbyterian churches

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is sending $20,000 to the
Presbytery of Eastern Virginia to help with recovery from damage caused by
Hurricane Isabel, which recently toppled trees, downed power lines and
destroyed homes along the East Coast.

Half of the grant, from the One Great Hour of Sharing, will be used to help
the presbytery clean up the mess left from Isabel, which thrashed Virginia
and several other mid-Atlantic states on Sept. 18. The other $10,000 will go
for cleanup and repairs at Makemie Woods Camp and Conference Center, located
between Williamsburg and Richmond, VA.

The hurricane, whose winds reached 100 mph, producing torrential rain and
11-foot storm surges, is blamed for at least 38 deaths, 23 of them in
Virginia.

"There will be a need for cleanup and chain-saw crews," said Stan Hankins,
PDA's associate for U.S. disaster response. "That's a big need in some of the
remote areas. ... Later, after things settle down and get organized, there's
obviously going to be a need for repair and rebuilding crews."

The Makemie camp and conference center, which is supported by the United
Methodist Church, is owned and operated by the Presbytery of Eastern
Virginia, based in Portsmouth, VA.

David A. Greene, the presbytery's interim associate presbyter, said the
now-uninhabitable home of the camp director is the most severely damaged
building on the grounds.

"There were more than 300 trees downed on the property," he said. "There was
damage to some of the camping areas, but there's very little structure
involved in that ... nothing anybody lived in."

Isabel also caused damage and power outages in North Carolina, West Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. On Sept. 29, many residents
were still waiting for electricity to be restored.

The storm didn't stop classes at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian
School of Christian Education, in Richmond, VA. A story on the school's Web
site said the storm did significant damage to neighborhoods around Union-PSCE
and caused widespread power cuts for more than a week.

At Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, MD, worshippers found
themselves attending services without electricity on Sept. 21.

"But the singing was more robust than ever, and the prayers for those touched
by the storm were more fervent than ever," said the Rev. Susan R. Andrews,
moderator of the 215th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). She
has served since 1989 as pastor and head of staff of the Bethesda
congregation.

Despite Isabel's widespread damage, most Presbyterian churches and related
institutions apparently escaped serious damage.

"We have surveyed our churches, and so far we have no reports of any major
damage from any of the church buildings themselves," Greene said of the 65
congregations of Eastern Virginia Presbytery. "A lot of folks are still
without electricity. That's probably the major complaint for most folks."

While some Presbyterians are believed to be among scores of residents whose
businesses or homes were damaged or lost, officials agreed that things could
have been far worse.

"We're relieved," said the Rev. Bill Neely, a Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance Team member who assessed storm damage in New Hope Presbytery,
which includes 132 congregations in eastern North Carolina. "We were very
fortunate."

According to Hankins, Eastern Virginia Presbytery, the Presbytery of the
James and New Hope Presbytery were hardest-hit. Less severe damage was
reported in the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina, National Capital Presbytery,
New Castle Presbytery and the Presbytery of Baltimore.

Hankins said he expects that more hurricane-relief funds will be sent to more
presbyteries.

In New Hope Presbytery, Calvary Presbyterian Church was flooded when a storm
surge hit the small coastal community of Swan Quarter. The church lost power,
and its heating and air-conditioning systems were damaged.

"They're going to have to remove all the carpet," said Neely, who assessed
the damage at Calvary church. "They'll have to redo the floors, replace some
of the furnishings, replace all of their heating and air units."

Other North Carolina Presbyterian churches in the path of Isabel escaped
unscathed, such as Outer Banks Presbyterian Church in Kill Devil Hills; Cann
Memorial Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth City; and Plymouth Presbyterian
Church in Plymouth.

"There was minor, minor damage in some of the other churches. Roof piles,
guttering, but nothing major," said Jim Moseley, associate executive
presbyter of New Hope Presbytery. "Our churches got a little rain-wet, but it
did not result in any damage."

In Elizabeth City, additional demand for supplies forced the Food Bank of the
Albemarle to issue an appeal for help.

New Hope Presbytery and churches like First Presbyterian in Greenville, NC,
where Neely is pastor, teamed to make a difference.

Together the Presbytery and churches shuttled more than 3,000 pounds of food
to Elizabeth City on Sept. 21, to help restock the food pantry.

"Presbyterians tend to be people who care about other people," Neely said
when asked about assisting the food pantry. "That's what we've been taught,
and that's what we try to teach."

Damage to church property was also minimal in the Presbytery of the James,
which includes 112 congregations in central Virginia. Camp Hanover, which the
presbytery owns outside Richmond, VA, received minor damage, mostly downed
trees, according to H. Carson Rhyne Jr., the presbytery's general presbyter
and stated clerk.

Rhyne said he has requested $15,000 from PDA, "for individual persons" for
"food, clothing, repairs, those kind of things that fall through the cracks."

Contributions for Hurricane Isabel relief may be made through individual
congregations or sent to the Presbyterian Center, Central Receiving Service,
Section 300, Louisville, KY 40289. Refer to designated account #9-2000015. To
make a gift with a credit card, call PresbyTel at 1-800-872-3283 or visit
PDA's secure Web site: 
https://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/donate?ident=92000015&project=Hurricane+Isabel

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