Hurricane Helene Spares AC Churches
By Justin Nash
The number of storm-related deaths from Hurricane Helene climbed past 130 across the Southeast, as authorities rush to airdrop supplies, restore power and clear roads after massive rains from the storm left people stranded and without shelter. More than 600 people are still unaccounted for following the storm, which knocked out communications to affected areas. The devastation from the hurricane continues to be assessed, but it looks like none of our Advent Christian churches suffered any catastrophic damage. One Florida church will need a new sanctuary roof, but most of the damage has been limited to lost siding and shingles. Advent Christian Village also weathered the storm, losing some of the trees left by Hurricane Idalia, being without power for an extended period and suffering some damage to the facilities. Power has been restored to the Village and the crews are working to restore power in the surrounding neighborhoods.
We are most thankful that there has been no loss of life or serious injuries among our broader church family. The damage in western North Carolina is overwhelming, but we do not have any churches in that part of the state. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will report any significant news among our churches. Please be in prayer for everyone from Florida to North Carolina who are suffering from the cataclysmic effects of this natural disaster.
You can donate to relief efforts through Samaritan’s Purse by clicking HERE or volunteer to help by clicking HERE.
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Thank you for the update Justin. We are keeping our neighbors in the North Carolina region in our daily prayers. Pastor Diana, PTown ACC, Illinois.
I live in the ACVillage and while the report is correct, it does not reflect the challenges our community faces.
By way of introduction, I am George Brisbin. I have been a member of Frances Avenue AC Church, and the Lowery Park AC Church in Tampa. My first visit to the Village was in 1952 participating in Camp Suwannee that year.
We will bypass the stuff about me, except to let you know I an a professional Civil Engineer, now retired. I have worked for every level of Government as well as about half of my career as a consulting engineer. I was Chief Traffic Engineer for the Panama Canal Company fron 1974 to 1979. I say this to let you know I see the village fron a different perspective than most.
The village is financially pressed trying to recover from now 4 hurricanes in less than a year and a half. The first to strike the village in about 100 years. During those years the village became soft to wind storms. Idialia took about 20% of our trees. Our cleanup bill is past $1,000,000.00 and we are not fully cleaned up fron that storm. Helene has put another 10 to 20% of our trees on the ground. Nearly every building, including the church, had to be reroofed and now Blue roof tarps are again a familiar sight. The water and sewre systems had survived but they did sustain damage that has not been repaired. Roadway edged are washed out while the electrical systen fails every time the wind blows hard. Power outages are a monthly affair.
As a manager, I look at the staff. The leaders are worn down fighting to keep expenses in check, while the general staff lacks a plan to follow because the leadership is desperetly working to find funds to keep our mounting bills in check whch leaves no time for assessing and planning.
I do not wish aanyone to think this ia a staff report. I am a resident and writing on my own. I beleive the things I have said to be accurate. I invite any and all to come and look for your self. As it stands now, the Village is liveable, but cannot recover with out outside help. The village has suffered a great deal of damage and quietly moved forward the best it could. However the staff and financial resources are overwhelmed. We need help from any and all who care.
George Brisbin
What?? Blessed Hope Fellowship in Western North Carolina, Morganton had significant damage. This is the oldest A.C. Church in Morganton where Rev. Jim Taber now pastors after 38 years at First Church in Morganton. The damage is significant but we will make it by the grace of God.
Thank you for sharing Pastor Tabor. We were aware that Blessed Hope sustained water damage through a leaking roof. We weren’t aware of further damage to the property. Feel free to email us at acpub@acgc.us.