June 18, 2001
Houston churches, association damaged by flooding
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___HOUSTON--Deer Park First Baptist Church has been without a pastor for nearly a year, but Tropical Storm Allison revealed that the church has a couple of hundred ministers.
___The church, located in a blue-collar suburb southeast of downtown Houston, was oneof several Texas Baptist congregations sustaining serious damage from the killer storm that dumped up to three feet of rain on the Houston area over five days.
OUTSIDE Deer Park First Baptist Church, piles of ruined carpeting and other materials bear witness to the damage done inside the church by floodwaters. (Photo by Ken Camp)
___Floodwaters, ranging from 5 to 19 inches high, covered 40,000 square feet of the floor-space inside Deer Park First Baptist Church. Preliminary estimates put damage at roughly $1 million, according to Donna Hanson, minister of administration. Unlike many Houston-area residents, the church has flood insurance.
___Water damaged the pews and soaked the carpet in the church's sanctuary, buckled linoleum throughout the preschool wing, swamped the choir room and saturated at least 1,000 books in the church's library.
___But on Saturday morning, June 9, volunteers started ripping out carpet and disinfecting the walls and floors with bleach. By the end of the 12-hour "work party" involving about 200 volunteers, the sanctuary was rendered fit for Sunday worship.
___The marquee in the church's front lawn announced a single worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, noting that no child care would be available.
___"It was really just a time for sharing and for counting our blessings," Hanson said. "We told about needs that we knew of."
___From 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, another 200 volunteers assembled at the church. But this time, many of them split into small work teams who fanned out in the surrounding neighborhood.
WATER-SOAKED materials drying at Deer Park.
___"We've tried to reach out to the community at this time," Hanson said. "Our people went out in the neighborhoods around here, contacting folks to ask what kind of needs they had."
___Church volunteers helped their neighbors rip wet carpet and padding from flooded homes, drape rugs and blankets over chain link fences and drag hopelessly spongy couches and recliners to the curbside with the garbage. Others prepared hot meals and delivered them to families who needed a home-cooked meal.
___At least 40 member families at Deer Park First Baptist Church sustained damage to their homes. Other church members opened their homes to displaced families, including some of their flooded neighbors with whom they had only passing acquaintance before the storm.
___As many members returned to their jobs on Monday, the volunteer effort at the church continued each evening. Those who were able to be at the church during regular office hours joined the ministers of administration, children, youth and music in cleaning.
___Russell Talbert, preschool division director, continued working at the church on June 12, cleaning anything that could be disinfected and discarding items that could not be reclaimed.
___Talbert shook his head as he looked at the saturated carpet in one preschool room that had been glued to the floor so well that volunteers were unable to rip it out. Four days after floodwaters had filled the room, it smelled like a wet dog in a water heater closet.
___His wife, minister to children Sandra Talbert, spent days sorting trash from treasures in the preschool wing. As she discarded outdated materials, she smiled and pointed out that the flood provided an occasion for a long-overdue spring housecleaning.
___
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