Jeanne Leaves Palm Beach Deaneries tired, shaken — and thankful

September 29, 2004

Like Frances two weeks earlier, Hurricane Jeanne hit hard at Palm Beach and Martin Counties, but after enduring a night of battering by 100 to 120-mile-an-hour winds, residents emerged to find what many call "amazingly little" damage. They are tired and shaken, but thankful.

"This one was horrific," says Fr. Winston Wright, rector of Grace Church, West Palm Beach. "The whole house was just vibrating."

A tree fell on a storage shed at his church, the parish hall lost more of its roof, already damaged by Frances, and part of the living room ceiling in the rectory fell down.

But at a 5 p.m. service on the Monday after the storm, the church had electricity, and Wright told his congregation, "We are here to give thanks to almighty God that he has spared our lives, and that we can pick up the pieces and go on.

By Tuesday, diocesan staff had been able to contact most parishes in the North and South Palm Beach Deaneries. Parishioners were accounted for and few had serious damage to report. Church buildings sustained minimal to moderate damage—more shredded roofs, more leaks, more trees down. Some churches and rectories, and many parishioners, are still without electricity. With power crews spread thin across the state in the wake of the three previous hurricanes, Florida Power and Light has warned that the wait for repairs may be long.

 
  - Current Postings
- Previous Months
     - Previous Years
- Grapevine
     - Previous Issues
- The Net
     - Previous Issues
     - Request Subscription or Issue
     - The Net's "Kentucy Bureau"
- Parish Events
- Washington National Cathedral
- Episcopal News Service
     - Noticias en Español
     - Nouvelles en Français
- Anglican Communion News Service
- Church of England Newspaper
- Anglicans Online
- The Church Times
- Clergy Assistance Program Guidelines
- Clergy Continuing Education
- Constitutions & Canons
     - Diocese
     - National
- Annual Parish Meeting
- Annual Reporting to Diocese
- Process toward ordination
- Discretionary Funds
- Duties of a Vestry
- Guidelines Bishop's Visit
- Internet Awareness
- Lay Eucharistic Ministers
- Lay Readers & Chalice Bearers
- Guidelines for Remarriage
- Manual on Sexual Misconduct
- Model Policies for Child Protection
- Search for a New Rector
- Online Policies
- Clergy insurance guidelines
- Human Needs/Smith Charity Fund Grant App.

- EpiscoRat
- St. Isidore
- Worship
     - Book of Common Prayer 1979
     - The Daily Office
     - The Common Lectionary Text
     - Prayers
     - Hymnals
        - The Hymn Site
        - Oremus Hymnal
        - Cyberhymnal #1
        - Cyberhymnal #2
- Bibles & Bible Study
     - The Audio Bible
     - Online Bibles and Reference
     - Interactive Bible Studies
     - The Bible Gateway
     - The Blue Letter Bible
     - Online Bible Concordance
- Places to Visit
     - Washington National Cathedral
     - Kanuga Conference Center
     - Camp Wingmann
     - The Anglican Center in Rome
- Other Links & Resources
- About Online Registration
- Register for Events
- Create a Registration Form
- Database
- Financial Reports
     

At Good Shepherd, Tequesta, which suffered severe roof damage from Hurricane Frances, the steeple now lies on a walkway between the church and a classroom building. The rector, Fr. Robert Taylor, speculates that "it just flew", lifted by the wind and sliding down the roof, miraculously missing a direct hit on any of the buildings.

Much of the parish hall roof at Guardian Angels, Lantana, is strewn across the church grounds. All Saints’, Jensen Beach, lost a window in the church office. St. Luke’s, Port Salerno, had flooding in the choir room. Part of a tree fell against the church building at St. Gregory’s, Boca Raton, breaking the water lines to the air conditioning system.

The North Palm Beach office of the diocese, which also houses the office of the Southeast Florida Episcopal Foundation, lost a window and is without electricity. The office is closed until power is restored.

Because of storm damage, the Hutchinson Island Marriott, which was to have been the site of the Diocesan Convention Oct. 15-16, will not be able to reopen in time. Several alternate locations are being considered.

A major worry for most of the affected parishes is financial. Insurance will cover most losses and needed repairs, but deductibles are high, and several clergy expressed concern about the loss of offerings from two Sundays when services could not be held because of the storms. Parishioners who face their own repair costs and high deductibles may not be able to make up the shortfall later.

Still, ministry continues. In the dark—and still damp in spots—parish hall at Holy Redeemer, Lake Worth, the Tuesday distribution of food packages to neighbors in need went on as usual, just as it did two weeks ago after Frances. Deacon-in Charge Christina Encinosa expects the storms will bring more clients for the parish’s feeding programs.

Reflecting on the long clean-up ahead at Good Shepherd, Taylor said, "If you have people who are supportive, it’s actually kind of energizing…to see people come together to do this."

"Scenes after Jeanne"

 

 


 

<top of page>

 

C O N T A C T    U S    B Y     E M A I L
www.diosef.org
Come And Grow with the Episcopal Church

© 2001-2004 The Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida. All Rights Reserved.