Homes demolished — moved from their foundations. Layers of mud and silt on the floors. Belongings swept up by the storm surge found a block away. Watermarks four feet high on some walls. Roofs peeled off. Businesses gone.
Even in the midst of such devastation and loss after Hurricane Ivan, Alabama’s Baptist churches stand as bastions of light and strength for their members and communities.
Baldwin Baptist Association’s churches are in some of the hardest-hit areas, and received most of the storm’s damage to churches. Romar Beach Baptist Church, Gulf Shores, was demolished, with only its sign left to mark the spot where the church had stood.
‘We’re still here’
Although still standing, Oyster Bay Baptist Church saw some of the most damage from Ivan. Sitting on Plash Island between Mobile Bay, Oyster Bay and the Bon Secour River, the church’s five buildings withstood the onslaught of a storm surge reaching as high as seven feet. All buildings but one were flooded and are now covered with mud from the waters.
Pastor Jerry Peebles estimated that about 80 percent of the church’s 400 members experienced moderate to total losses of property and homes. “This has kind of crippled us because nobody can step up and help each other, because we’re all riding in the same boat now.”
Despite such staggering circumstances, Peebles said the spirit of the 150-year-old church is still strong. “We’ve got flooded buildings, damaged buildings, but the church has not gone away. We’re still here,” he said.
Which is why he decided to hold services Sept. 19, the first Sunday after Ivan roared through. The church’s sanctuary was newer and higher than the other buildings and did not flood.
Peebles said many church members insisted on gathering to praise and worship God for bringing them and their families safely through the storm. Peebles said no church members were injured or killed.
He added that the Sunday service showed the community the church was continuing to persevere. “[The church members] will be resilient and come back again, probably better than before.”
Although many are focusing on their own needs, as time goes on the focus is turning outward, as evidenced at First Baptist Church, Gulf Shores.
Pastor Lloyd Stilley said the church — which suffered damage to the steeple and so had some water damage — was beginning to look at long-range strategies for helping those who had long-term problems, such as no home or had a house but nothing in it.
Stilley said the church is also housing Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers from Illinois. “We’ve had an amazing response from our disaster relief teams,” he said.
Other less damaged churches in Gulf Shores are also hosting disaster relief teams or performing their own relief.
Lagoon Baptist Church prepared meals three times a day for anyone who wanted them. The church, where Salam Shorrosh is pastor, is also housing some people who have no homes or who cannot return home at the moment.
Church secretary Angie Dailey said Ivan brought church members closer. “There’s a great community effort to get things going as well as we can.”
She said the church had water damage in the sanctuary from the storm surge and trees down in the yard, although none had hit the church.
Statewide damage
First Baptist Church, Orange Beach, is also hosting disaster relief teams. Pastor John Price said the church’s minimal damage could not compare with what many had. Ivan’s 140 mph winds peeled back a section of the church’s metal roof, letting in rain and knocking off shingles on another part of the roof.
In Mobile Association, fewer churches suffered damage of the magnitude in Baldwin.
However, Dauphin Island Baptist Church had water damage from the storm surge in both the church and its resort ministry building. Sonrise Baptist Church had a large section of its roof torn off and suffered water damage. The associational building had a tree fall across the front, but it did not knock down the wall.
The majority of the state’s churches damaged by Ivan had damage to shingles, minor water damage and trees down in yards.
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