The shadow cast by Superstorm Sandy has been long and wide.
Imagine a church parsonage, miles from the flood zone, more than two years after the storm, still suffering the after-effects of the disaster.
That is precisely the story of the Stapleton UAME Church, where Reverend Maggie Howard’s roof was torn open by wind during the storm. Over months, she watched the hole grow larger and the roof sag ever more dangerously toward collapse.
“The insurance wouldn’t fix it, they refused,” Reverend Howard said recently, as she pointed upward at the patched ceiling of her kitchen – a kitchen lovingly restored by Project Hospitality, Reformed Church in America volunteers and others. “Over time, I started noticing the ceiling opening. Every time it snowed, every time it rained — I prayed.”
Reverend Howard ministered to Sandy victims after the storm, bringing them food, supplies and abiding belief in a better tomorrow. She never gave up faith that her turn would eventually also come, and her small parsonage would be saved.
“I thought about it and God was going to send somebody to take care of us. God is going to fix this,” she said with a smile.
That fix started taking shape after a conversation with Reverend Terry Troia, Executive Director of Project Hospitality.
Project Hospitality remains knee-deep in the ongoing work of Sandy. In the past few months, our new “Way Home” program found temporary housing for families doing major work through the city’s Build it Back.
Through our leadership on the Staten Island Interfaith and Long Term Recovery Organization, we are playing a key role in “Houses to Homes,” an initiative that mobilizes crews of volunteers to help exhausted, financially-strained residents paint decks, plant yards, or do other little finishing touches to make their house feel like home again.
“As the city’s Build it Back program prepares to begin many new construction starts this summer on Staten Island, there is a clear need for the ongoing services of Staten Island non-profits,” said Karen Jackson, Director of Community Initiatives for PH. “Project Hospitality continues to feed over one-hundred people from Sandy impacted areas of the island every month, and has provided temporary housing services to over a dozen families still waiting for the rebuild to be completed on their homes. Project Hospitality caseworkers continue to conduct outreach in Sandy impacted areas, providing thousands of referrals to disaster case management, free Sandy legal services, and mental health support.”
Project Hospitality also provides more support in the form of our teams of volunteers, who arrive with fresh eyes and big smiles to renew living spaces like Reverend Howards’ cozy parsonage. Over the span of a few weeks, dedicated Project Hospitality workers and volunteers sent by UMCOR patched her ceiling, replaced her water damaged floors and cabinet and located the resources to get her roof repaired.
“I feel blessed, so loved,” said Reverend Howard. “It has been an amazing experience.”
After the initial work was complete on her parsonage, 13 high school students and their chaperones from the Fair Haven Church in Hudsonville, Michigan, showed up to lend a hand with the emotionally and physically draining work of sorting through her waterlogged possessions, organizing what was salvageable, and discarding the rest.
“This the first time I have done this kind of mission work and I really love it. I love helping people out,” said Bailey Arnold, one of the volunteers from Fair Haven Church. During their week as PH Faith in Action volunteers, she and the others in the group split their time between the Stapleton church and service in Project Hospitality’s soup kitchen and food pantry, located just a few blocks away. “This has really opened my eyes, and made me very thankful for what we have.”
The team was made up from students at their local high school and youth group members of the Fair Haven Church — a congregation of the Reformed Church in America, dedicated to helping people find their way back to God through service and healing our broken and hurting world.
“This gives us the opportunity to let service and justice reach our hearts,” said Jordan Stonehouse, youth pastor and high school director at Fair Haven Church.
As he spoke, students carried into her yard two barbecue grills they had bought with their own saved travel money, and given as a parting gift to the church.
“The kids are excited about justice. They learned self-awareness, empathy, compassion and dignity. This experience has inspired them. We have been talking about how we are fighting together to change the world. It’s a fight they want to be part of.”
The faithful at Stapleton UAME are enjoying those grills this summer, cooking food from Rev. Howard’s sweet new kitchen. They have every reason to welcome the sunshine – now fully emerged from Sandy’s shadow.