The Friday after the storm, I drove south to check on five of the churches in Charlotte County that had been damaged in the storm. I went with my own gas (to make sure I could get back) and took water to hand out to churches. Below are some of the pictures I took of four of those churches.
Englewood UMC- the associate pastor and his family were in the youth room on the second floor (fearful of storm surge at their house) when they heard a loud bang and realized the roof was coming off. They ran downstairs and spent the rest of the storm in the cry room of the sanctuary.
Gulf Cove UMC in Port Charlotte - both entrances were inaccessible because of downed trees so I parked on the road and hiked in. So much damage to all of the spaces including a portable that helps house the Boys and Girls Club.
Edgewater UMC in Port Charlotte - this church is in an old converted movie theater. The gas station next door to the church completely collapsed in the storm and park of the sign was in the church parking lot.
Port Charlotte UMC - this church looked ok at first from the west side, but the whole east side of the sanctuary roof is missing shingles AND the plywood.
Lighthouse, Boca Grande - I was not allowed onto Gasparilla Island for the town of Boca Grande where the church was, but I went to visit the pastor in the parsonage in the mainland town of Placida. The pastor and his wife are from England and are here "on loan" for this year. They had never been in a hurricane before and did not evacuate. Thankfully the parsonage had been retrofitted for hurricane codes and was only missing a few roof tiles. This is a boat storage place right by the parsonage.
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