A large tornado descends on Selma, Ala., in this still image from a storm chaser video. Photo courtesy of the Selma Sun.

A tornado described by the National Weather Service as “large and dangerous” tracked across Selma, Ala., on January 12. The tornado was part of a larger outbreak across the South.

Steve Burton, Pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Selma, reported minor damage to the church property, but “complete devastation” in residential areas approximately 100 yards away. He added that several members of the congregation have lost their homes, though his house was not damaged.

In an email immediately after the storm to Ken Van Kampen, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of the Central South, Burton noted that a school with 360 students was near the church. At the time he sent the email, he was not able to access the area but said the school was “an utmost priority” for him and others and he would help in any way he could.

“Pray for the emergency workers in the immediate hours ahead and the clean-up work in the days to come,” Van Kampen said. “Pray that every parent in town will be reunited with their children this afternoon and that all displaced families will find their physical needs met today, as well as their spiritual and emotional needs in the future. Finally, pray for Cornerstone EPC and the churches in Selma as they minister in very practical ways in the name of our Lord.”

The EPC Domestic Emergency Relief Fund is accepting donations to assist in disaster areas with identified needs. To contribute, go to www.epc.org/emergencyrelief.

Members of the two EPC congregations nearest the Florida landfall of Hurricane Ian suffered significant effects from the near-category 5 storm.

“Many of our congregation have suffered severe and total loss of home, cars, and property,” Mike Jones, Associate Pastor of New Hope Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers, said by email on September 29. “At this point, I am not aware of any loss of life or health, but I know some were evacuated by boat at 5:00 a.m. (Thursday).”

He also noted that there was no power, water, or internet and most of the roads in his neighborhood were “impassable.”

Paul de Jong, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers, reported on September 30 that “everyone appears to be safe and accounted for. But with no power and spotty cell service I haven’t been able to contact everyone—only maybe 10 percent of our congregants.”

Flood waters rose to just below the light switches in the home of a widowed member of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers before receding. (Photo courtesy of Paul de Jong)

“One who I did talk to had several feet of water in their home,” de Jong said. “Another elderly lady who lives by herself had 5 feet of water in her house. Her piano ended up upside down, and her refrigerator was in her living room. So for many people, they lost all their worldly possessions and their homes will unlivable for months.”

He reported only minor damage to the church property.

“The church has a few broken windows, a few leaks here and there, and the steeple will need some TLC,” he said, noting that the storm surge stopped about 200 yards from the building. “The church sits in a flood zone, but it’s very well built by incredibly faithful Christians in the 1950s who recognized that one day a hurricane would come.”

He added that though the church building was not an official shelter, “quite a few homeless people were knocking on the door as the storm approached. We absolutely wouldn’t turn them away, so we let them in, fed them, and took care of them as best as we could. We held a brief worship service and of course I spoke on God being our shelter in the storm. One of the men said we gave him the best meal he had had in a long time, and I hope we were able to minister him spiritually as well. My biggest job was to try to keep people’s spirits up because you could just feel the anxiety.”

First Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers suffered several broken windows. (Photo courtesy of Paul de Jong)

Both de Jong and Jones said their homes received only minor damage, and the New Hope campus “was spared any real damage,” Jones said.

“In my neighborhood, every home sustained some damage—some major and some minor,” de Jong said. “Our house has damage but nothing that can’t be fixed.”

He added that both First and New Hope plan to hold worship services on Sunday.

“Though without power for the sound system I will have to project like Spurgeon back in the day,” de Jong quipped.

Damage reports from other Florida pastors

Elsewhere across Florida, EPC churches were largely spared significant effects during Ian’s slow trek northeast.

“All is well here in Tampa,” said Mark Farrell, Pastor of Tampa Covenant Church on September 29. “The church is intact, with just a few felled tree branches and accumulated water in the parking lot. Thanking God for His grace on our churches at this time. May He continue to do so as we all recover.”

David Swanson, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Orlando, said “the First Pres buildings are all good—and our staff has fared well.”

Robert Olszewski, Pastor of GracePoint Church in Plant City, reported that some of the members of his congregation suffered minor damage and power outages.

“We are reaching out to folks in our community who need help and providing a hot meal today at the church,” he said by email on September 29.

Doug Walker, Pastor of River City Church in DeBary, reported minor damage to the church property. “And it appears our parishioners are doing OK,” he said by email.

Dillon Thornton, Pastor of Faith Community Church in Seminole, said his congregation “weathered the storm well. Our church campus and our members suffered only minor damage.”

Greg Gunn, Lead Pastor at Providence Church in Spring Hill, said “all is well at Providence Church and with the flock. We are praying for our friends in Ft. Myers.”

After leaving Florida as a tropical storm late Thursday and entering the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Canaveral, Ian regained hurricane strength with sustained winds of 75 m.p.h. A hurricane warning is in effect for coastal South Carolina. Ian’s storm surge is forecast to bring five feet of water into coastal areas in Georgia and the Carolinas. As it moves north across South Carolina and into North Carolina and Virginia, rainfall of up to eight inches could bring flooding to inland areas.

The EPC Domestic Emergency Relief Fund is accepting donations to assist EPC churches in these and other disaster areas with identified needs. To contribute, see www.epc.org/emergencyrelief.

Boats carried by Hurricane Ian’s storm surge were stranded on dry land a few blocks from First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fort Myers.

The projected path of Hurricane Ian, with the locations of EPC churches in the Presbytery of Florida and the Caribbean.

Hurricane Ian neared Category 5 status with sustained winds of 155 mph on Wednesday morning, September 28, as it bears down on Florida. At 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, the center of the storm was located about 75 miles southwest of Fort Myers, home of two EPC congregations—First Presbyterian Church (Paul de Jong, Pastor) and New Hope Presbyterian Church (Mike Jones, Pastor).

“Please pray for our churches and communities in Florida as Ian approaches,” said Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk. “We do not have any negative reports so far, but of course the worst is yet to come. Pray also for the staff of the Office of the General Assembly and their families, as Orlando is directly in the projected path of the storm.”

Other churches potentially in the path of Ian’s effects include Community Presbyterian Church in Clewiston (William Slager, Pastor); Faith Presbyterian Church in Brooksville (Joe Tolin, Pastor); Faith Presbyterian Church in Seminole (Dillon Thornton, Pastor); First Presbyterian Church in Orlando (David Swanson, Pastor); GracePoint in Plant City (Robert Olszewski, Pastor); Nación Santa in Haines City (Luis Quiñones, Pastor); New Covenant EPC in Pompano Beach (Adam Greenfield, Pastor); Providence Church in Spring Hill (Greg Gunn, Pastor); River City Church in DeBary (Doug Walker, Pastor); Seaside Church in Vilano Beach (Brady Haynes, Pastor); and Tampa Covenant Church in Tampa (Mark Farrell, Pastor).

Hurricane Ian is projected to cut northeast through Florida, emerge in the Atlantic off the northeast Florida coast near Jacksonville, then make landfall again in southeast Georgia or South Carolina and move north.

The EPC Domestic Emergency Relief Fund is accepting donations to assist churches in disaster areas with identified needs. To contribute, go to www.epc.org/emergencyrelief.

Hurricane Fiona, which made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 18, delivered flooding rains and an island-wide power outage. While two deaths on the island are attributed to the storm, the EPC churches on the island experienced no casualties. Those congregations are Iglesia Presbiteriana Westminster (Westminster Presbyterian Church) in Bayamón, Iglesia Presbiteriana Evangélica en Añasco (Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Añasco), and Iglesia Presbiteriana Evangélica Mayagüez (Mayagüez Evangelical Presbyterian Church).

By September 22, power had been restored to about two-thirds of the U.S. territory.

“Our church in Bayamón is up and running,” Enid Flores, Westminster Ruling Elder said by email on September 22. “Añasco has no power as of yesterday, but they were good with no casualties. Mayagüez has been cleaning the falling trees which affected some houses, streets, and the Retreat Center, but they are in good hands and their building has power and water.”

Flores reported that power is still out in her area of Puerto Rico’s capital city of San Juan, but water service had been restored.

“The devastation is pretty serious at the south and center of the island,” she said. “But in God we trust, and I know He has a purpose.”

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, asked “our entire EPC family to pray for our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters as they minister to their communities in the aftermath of Fiona, even as they face their own recovery.”

The EPC Domestic Emergency Relief Fund is accepting donations to assist churches in disaster areas with identified needs. To contribute, go to www.epc.org/emergencyrelief.

Surveying recovery efforts in Thibodaux, La., on September 13 are (left to right) Whitney Alexander, Brandon Queen, Dean Weaver, and Bill Crawford.

As recovery continues in South Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Ida’s destructive wind, rain, and storm surge, EPC Stated Clerk Weaver traveled to Thibodaux, La., to see how donations to the EPC Emergency Relief Fund are being put to work.

He joined Bill Crawford, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Thibodaux and First Presbyterian Church of Houma; Brandon Queen, Ruling Elder for the Thibodaux congregation; and Whitney Alexander, Associate Pastor of Missions for First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge, La., to survey relief efforts.

“In the past three weeks we served over 550 people directly with material support that Presbyterians from all over the Gulf region provided.” Crawford said. “We’ve given out $3,000 to people in need thanks to generous giving from the EPC, churches in our Presbytery, and private individuals.”

Queen said some of the funds were used to purchase generators and portable air conditioning units.

“We provided a generator for one lady whose unit was stolen, and for another elderly woman who lives in a more damaged area of the parish,” said Queen, who serves as a Detective with the LaFourche Parish Sheriff’s Office. “Helping others is what we are called to do—serving the less fortunate.”

He said generators also were provided to other parish deputies and staff so they can continue to serve the community. Weaver noted the importance of assisting first responders so they can better serve their communities.

“I want to help the people that are helping others,” he said.

The homes of two widows from Crawford’s congregations are a total loss.

Crawford said that between his two congregations, five households—including several widows—experienced “total loss.”

“Pray for these households,” Crawford said. “Our initial focus is to get them as far forward as we can carry them. We begin by packing what remains, throwing the rest to the street, and tearing the interior to the studs. It’s a brutal process for the homeowner, but a reminder of the call to support the widows of the church. We are trying to help the most vulnerable first, but we hope to help others as well. We’ve all suffered damage and loss, but many have suffered more.”

He added that relief teams from Houma, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge have “done significant recovery work” in three homes.

“We have been able to move from relief to recovery by working through volunteer teams from all over the Gulf Coast and Baton Rouge,” he said. “These have been day trips where teams drive in, work 4-6 hours, and then drive home. Next week we are hoping to host our first multi-day volunteer team.”

“The work of the EPC has been significant,” he added. “My car is in the shop indefinitely due to the storm, so they purchased a truck so I can lead teams. The Presbytery has sent thousands of dollars of relief in the form of supplies and cash. First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge has done the same, along with sending logistical, planning, and personal support. Whitney Alexander has been down here at least a dozen times. We are coordinating with churches in the Presbytery to help rebuild homes and restart lives. We thank God for their support.”

Crawford said he expects the work to continue at least through the rest of this year.

“As we move forward into the mission field there will be opportunities for much of next year,” he noted.

Secure online donations to help with recovery efforts can be made at www.epc.org/donate/emergencyrelief, which also includes instructions for donating by check and text-to-give.

On September 12, Weaver delivered a message of encouragement from Psalm 41 to the combined Thibodaux and Houma congregations.

As Louisiana continues to recover from Hurricane Ida, Hurricane Nicholas brought additional rain and storm surge to the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts in mid-September. EPC congregations were largely unaffected by that storm.

“Compared to what Bill Crawford has been going through in Thibodaux, Nicholas is nothing,” said Alan Trafford, Pastor of Covenant Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Lake Jackson, Texas. “The church is unscathed except for a few tree limbs. Neighbors were helping one another, and by lunchtime some of the more intrepid were mowing their lawns.”