May 13, 2002
Happy Church gets a scare as ill wind blows through
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___HAPPY--Happy and all its synonyms were not the dominating emotion Sunday, May 5, as a tornado tore through the Panhandle community just as evening worship services began.
___Gratitude, however, was on the minds of residents who realized how much worse things could have been.
___The twister claimed two lives in the community and gave everyone else a good scare.
___Paul Burwash not only serves First Baptist Church as pastor; he's also the community's volunteer emergency medical technician.Just as he was beginning his sermon that evening, his fire department pager went off. At about the same time, word came that a tornado was approaching from the west.
THE ROOF over the education wing at First Baptist Church of Happy was completely blown away, as was a portion of the roof over the sanctuary.
___"A few of our deacons went to west doors, and all you could see was tornado," Burwash said. "I don't know how wide it was--I would guess about a mile or mile and a half--but it was big."
___At that time, he estimated, the tornado was only about five miles away. The church does not have a basement or cellar, so worshippers were divided into three groups and hurried to homes that had shelters.
___The senior adults went to the shelter closest to the church. The entrance was in the garage, and just as the last man was beginning to enter the cellar, the walls of the garage were taken by the tornado. The force of the winds pushed him down into shelter.
___"They really had a close call there," Burwash said. "They didn't even have time to close the lid before it was gone. They were pretty shook up for a while."
___The other groups, although traveling a longer distance to shelter, did not come into the tornado's path.
___The church, however, did experience the funnel's fury. The education and office space appears to be a total loss, and part of the roof blew off the sanctuary.
___"We lost the roof off the sanctuary, but from the outside the walls appear to be all right," the pastor said. "The trusses pulled apart, however, so we'll have to wait for a structural engineer to come and tell us whether it can be repaired or if it will be condemned."
___If the sanctuary can be repaired, insurance coverage probably will be adequate, he said. However, if the building is condemned, the $1 million insurance policy will not be adequate to replace the building.
___With more heavy rains expected, the church was working in the days after the twister to store the contents of the church that still were salvageable. Many things--including more than half the pastor's library and the church's computers--were destroyed by water and flying glass in the initial tornado.
___The pastor's office now features a clear view of the sky.
___The church contacted roofing contractors about putting a tarp over the sanctuary to guard against coming rains, but contractors said tarps would not hold due to the building's condition.
___Because he is an emergency medical technician, Burwash was present as unsuccessful attempts were made to revive a couple who died in the tornado. The couple's 9-year-old son also was injured and was in too great a degree of shock to realize his parents had died.
PASTOR Paul Burwash outside First Baptist Church in Happy.
___Ministering to the community and those in the church who lost their homes is the biggest priority for now, Burwash said.
___"I know that with a million dollar building, that has to be a priority, but nobody lives there. I have to be with people who are having to bulldoze their homes. At some point soon, I'll have to concentrate more on our building. But for now, hurting people are the bigger priority."
___Most of those who lost their homes are moving in with others, he said. One home now has 16 people living in it. "Families are doubling and even tripling up, but they find that preferable to moving their children to another school so late in the year--that would just be more traumatic for them," he explained.
___The can-do spirit carries over to the church's facilities, Burwash said. "The attitude of the people seems to be, 'We built one building, we'll build another one if we have to.'"
___The church and community already have received extensive help from the Texas Baptist family, reported Roy Kornegay, director of missions for Amarillo Baptist Association.
___Buddy Young, director of the Baptist Student Ministry at West Texas A&M, brought a crew of students to help clean up damaged homes. Jared Sellers, a West Texas representative of Texas Baptist Men, worked with the American Red Cross and local officials to coordinate a disaster response. Jim Young of the BGCT Center for Community Ministries provided immediate assistance for families impacted by the tornado. Keith Crouch of the BGCT church facilities department offered immediate financial assistance to the church.
___"The BGCT has jumped in and done some great things," Kornegay said.
___For now, church members are trying to look for the bright side after the storm, the pastor reported.
___One woman has been wanting to remodel the church kitchen. "I told her she must have been praying about that remodeling, and she needs to be careful what she prays for," Burwash joked.
___On the Sunday morning before the storm, Burwash preached from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and emphasized the biblical admonition not to store up treasures on earth.
___"I told them, 'All this could be here today and gone tomorrow,'" he said.
___"Well, one of our ladies told me later, 'Pastor, you said it could all be here today and gone tomorrow; you didn't say anything about here today and gone tonight.'"
___
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