CHICAGO, IL (December 5, 2005) – Despite having insurance, five Evangelical Covenant Churches in the Southeast Conference will suffer severe financial hardship as they have to pay deductibles on claims resulting from Hurricane Wilma, says Kurt Miericke, superintendent.
“Five churches really had a lot of damage,” says Miericke. “Even though all the churches were insured, the deductibles are very high for them.” The affected churches all are in Florida and Miericke listed the minimum amount that each church is going to have to pay:
- Faith Christian Center, Miami – $24,000
- Kingdom Covenant (formerly Palmetto), Miami – $7,000
- Bethany Covenant, North Miami – $10,000-plus
- Lighthouse Covenant, Tamarac – $14,000
- Royal Palm Covenant, Royal Palm Beach – $10,000 minimum
Repair costs could eventually exceed $100,000 depending on what insurance ultimately covers, Miericke says. All of the churches had extensive roof damage that also allowed water damage to the interior. Bethany’s van also was stolen by looters shortly after the storm.
The churches’ financial struggles are worsened because many of the congregations’ members also sustained major losses – and giving is down, Miericke says. “People are trying to regroup and restore themselves back to normal, but it is very costly.
“The people are weary,” Miericke continued, “especially Royal Palm because they had to rebuild last year. There’s a lot of fatigue. It’s put a lot of strain on every family.” Miericke says the hurricanes over the last two years have financially strained the conference as well.
Other churches continue to provide support, however. A team from Vero Beach Covenant Church recently traveled to the Gulf Coast where they helped with cleaning. Central Carolina Community Church of Asheboro, North Carolina, traveled to Natchez, Mississippi, to restore a house – the house is adjacent to Greater Faith Tabernacle Covenant Church and storm victims who now attend the congregation live in the home. The Covenant Village Chapel Fund contributed $3,000 to the project.
A team of eight people from First Covenant Church of Vero Beach, Florida, recently returned from a Thanksgiving week trip to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where they helped clean homes. “People are still in desperate situations,” says pastor Tristan Hohler, who accompanied the group. “They’re living in trailers or they’re still waiting to live in trailers. There was some electrical and drywall work. Mostly it was knocking down stuff and tearing up carpet. We did a lot of sanitizing.”
“One home had been submerged in 11 feet of water,” says team member Kim Baschak. “Half of it still had not been cleaned. Stuff was still wet from when hurricane hit.”
Workers used respirators and protective gear because of the mold and the toxicity of the mud that still exists in many homes. Much of the work was disgusting, but Hohler adds, “The rewards outweigh the mud.” Hohler describes the experience as “an unqualified blessing, especially after what we went through.”
First Covenant recently rededicated its building, which sustained severe hurricane damage in 2004. People from across the country had traveled help with repairs. One of them, Clyde Sundquist, of Minnesota, also traveled with the church on its mission to Mississippi.
Baschak had never been to Vero Beach before, but the Portland, Oregon, resident joined the team after she learned on the Covenant’s website of the church’s rededication and its plans to help Katrina victims. “For me it was really humbling,” says Baschak. “It really caused me to reflect on my life and how I live it and having such deep appreciation and thanks for the things that can be destroyed and the things that can’t be destroyed.”
“It also was really encouraging because some of the people we met had great hope,” Baschak observes. “I would have responded the same way.”
Working with people she had not previously known, including other volunteer groups from different denominations, had an impact on Baschak. “It reaffirmed for me the importance of the body of Christ,” she says.
“The people were grateful to the core,” says Hohler. People who were able, brought volunteers Thanksgiving dinners. One of the Covenant volunteers broke down in tears when a little girl gave him a handwritten note of thanks, Hohler adds.
First Covenant coordinated its efforts through Christians Organized for Relief Efforts (CORE), which has set up a tent city that can accommodate about 200 volunteers on the property of a Methodist congregation.
Hohler says he hopes Covenanters and others will continue to remember the storm victims and be reminded that recovery in Florida and the Gulf Coast will take years. “Everywhere we drove, everywhere we looked, there is still devastation. Many places aren’t even starting to rebuild. It’s still in preliminary stages.”
Covenanters have continued to donate to Covenant World Relief. So far, giving to Hurricane Katrina and other storm relief has reached $1.15 million, with $59,000 given during November. So far $60,000 of that total – including $1,000 in November – has been donated online.
There are two primary ways to donate to the Covenant’s Hurricane Relief Fund established by Covenant World Relief. Checks made payable to Covenant World Relief and earmarked for hurricane relief may be sent to Covenant World Relief, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625. Donations also may be made online using a major credit card at Covenant Hurricane Relief. All online gifts will receive a charitable acknowledgement by mail for income tax purposes.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.