HOUSTON, TX (September 17, 2008) \u2013 Pastors of Houston area Evangelical Covenant churches say they have heard no reports of injuries or extensive damage to congregants\u2019 homes as a result of Hurricane Ike, although power outages remain and trees remain strewn across streets and yards.
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\nA family that attends Hope Community Evangelical Covenant Church escaped possible injury when a tree crashed into their roof. The family was staying with friends, says pastor John Fagg.<\/p>\n
The debris fell onto an area just above where the couple\u2019s two-week-old baby normally sleeps. \u201cWe just rejoice that they weren\u2019t there and the baby wasn\u2019t there,\u201d Fagg says.<\/p>\n
Fagg says his church sustained \u201cslight water damage\u201d and lost several trees. \u201cSome pews were wet, and the Narthex was really wet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Power had been restored to the homes of some church members, but many still were without electricity.<\/p>\n
McPherson is staying with his daughter in McPherson, Kansas, and plans to return on Wednesday. He left after the storm had passed through Houston.<\/p>\n
Power and water was restored Monday at the home of Ed Lee, pastor of Mosaic Community Covenant Church in Missouri City. Lee says he was grateful that the weather cooled after Ike passed through.<\/p>\n
Rick Lindholtz, a Covenant minister who serves a Lutheran congregation in Kingwood, Texas, says, \u201cIt\u2019s stressful to be continually living without power.\u201d He has had to make arrangement for his son\u2019s insulin to be stored elsewhere. Still, he says, \u201cWe\u2019re doing okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The church was one of the first to have power restored because it is on the same power grid as the police department and local hospital. The church is reaching out to others in the community and making its building available to other congregations that want to hold services.<\/p>\n