On Thursday October 8, 2004, Reverend Rick Lindsey and I drove a 25' Penske moving van filled with roofing materials from Hilton Head, SC to Vero Beach, Florida, to help Trinity Church, Vero Beach, rebuild the Church Of God By Faith in Wabasso. The church was damaged extensively by Hurricanes Frances and Jean, and the tiny parish was struggling to finance and repair their place of worship.

Arriving at Vero Beach, Reverend Lorne Coyle showed us areas where Hurricanes Frances and Jean had done extensive damage, and described the ongoing nightmare many Vero and Gifford residents continue to endure. Hurricane damage to homes, especially manufactured and low income housing, is extensive. Many residents have marginal incomes, and may be unable to rebuild, even with FEMA's help.

Their misery is compounded by the damages to local industries: citrus farming, packing, and Piper Aircraft all suffered severely, and many residents will remain unemployed for an indeterminate period of time.

On Friday, we visited Church Of God By Faith, and inspected the damage with the Elder Charlie Jones. Much of the roof was blown away, and water caused the ceiling to collapse, ruining carpeting and damaging pews and fixtures. We set to work removing the remains of the roof and underlayment on Friday morning with a handful of volunteers. We repaired the plywood subroof as well.

On Saturday, nearly 40 volunteers from Trinity and Church Of God By Faith worked to clear the roofing debris remove the pews, church furnishings, and carpets, and strip away what remained of the ceilings. In parallel, we continued repairs of the subroof, nailed underlayment in place, and began shingling. The shingling process continued long after we reluctantly began our return trip to Hilton Head.

The parishoners of Church Of God By Faith and Trinity are wonderful people, and we feel fortunate to have been in a position to begin the healing and restoration process there. We wish both parishes better fortunes and God's blessing as they work together to rebuild their communities.



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