By Sheldon C. Good, sheldon@mennoweekly.org
Mennonite Weekly Review
Flood waters due to Tropical Storm Irene were subsiding by Sept. 6, but extensive devastation remained as cleanup and repairs began for Mennonites across Vermont, including some who were isolated for days.
The storm weakened as it made its way along the Atlantic seaboard the last weekend of August but dropped several inches of rain in just a few hours in many places.
In Vermont, raging rivers washed out hundreds of roads and damaged dozens of bridges.
More than a dozen Vermont towns, including Plymouth, home to the Mennonite-affiliated Bethany Birches Camp, became virtual islands.
“We are in the midst of a disaster,” said Randy Good, pastor of Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship, on Sept. 1, after the storm had pased. “Close by, people have lost their homes and businesses. We are continuing to become aware of the magnitude of things, and as we do, it is getting worse.”
Good and Gwen Groff, pastor of Bethany Mennonite Church, accounted for all of their members, though some evacuated their homes. Both meetinghouses as well as Bethany Birches Camp sustained little damage.
More than 60 percent of the 450 miles of Vermont state roads that were closed have reopened, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 5.
Still, some roads remained closed. According to Google Crisis Response, parts of the main road that runs between the camp and the Bethany congregation were only open to authorized vehicles.
“Franconia Conference communities in?Vermont seem to be at the center of some of the most extensive damage,” said Stephen Kriss, director of communication for Franconia Mennonite Conference.
On Aug. 30, National Guard helicopters airlifted food, water and supplies to isolated towns, including Plymouth.The storm killed three people in Vermont and at least 55 total. Preliminary estimates put total losses along the East Coast at about $7 billion.
Brandon Bergey, executive director of Bethany Birches Camp, was using his motorcycle to get around.
He said most towns were setting up relief stations where people could get gas, food and water.
The local community, Bergey said, is drawing closer together.
“In a rural area like ours, it’s not always easy to connect with neighbors; now it’s easier,” he said.
“The destruction that will cost us a lot of work and discomfort — and for some, homes and most possessions — is helping us build relationships.”
Groff, pastor of the Bethany congregation, lives with her family in a parsonage next to the church. Though it sits along the Ottauquechee River, which overflowed its banks, the Groffs’ home received minimal damage.
Route 4, the main road between the Bethany and Taftsville congregations, will be closed for months, Good said.
“Some roadways that seemed passable have been found to have caves washed out underneath the roadway, and some have collapsed,” he said.
Six people from Franconia Conference congregations volunteered with MDS in Vermont Sept. 5-8. They removed debris and sorted through damaged buildings.
“The primary effort right now is simply getting wet materials out of homes,” said volunteer Ted Houser of Lancaster, Pa.
Houser noted the timeliness of their service: Mennonites worked on storm cleanup on Labor Day in Vermont, Pennsylvania and New York.
MDS executive director Kevin King said the organization is conducting assesments for long-term needs.?He said relief work in Vermont is “a challenge because of all the infrastructure that’s been destroyed.”
In other storm damage, the basement of New Beginnings Community Church of Bristol, Pa., a Franconia Conference congregation, flooded due to the recent storm.
Ertell Whigham, executive minister of Franconia Conference, said the church lost all of its educational resources, including computers.
Originally posted in Mennonite Weekly Review, September 1, 2011 and updated on September 6. Reposted by permission.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.