Dear Members and Friends of St. Peter’s,

The hurricane was brutal but thanks be to God no lives were lost among our parishioners although many have suffered damage and loss. It’s going to take some time to bring everything back to normal.

The Assessment

Two families lost their homes. Other families suffered flood damage. About five people lost their cars. The church suffered some exterior damage but fortunately no water damage. It is fit for habitation and we had liturgy this Sunday even though we still don’t have power. One parishioner suffered a broken hip with a misstep in the dark with the loss of power.

No doubt more reports will come in.

The Needs

We are a family and families take care of each other.

This afternoon I delivered food to an older couple who was shut in because their car was flooded and they still have no power. Their lower level garage was flooded and they lost all their stored belongs and their car. When things settle a bit we will need a crew to help clean out their garage. There may be other situations like this that I have still not heard about.

We will need volunteers to deliver food here and there.

We will need volunteers to do light maintenance and repairs especially for our widows and widowers.

We will need volunteers to complete the church grounds cleanup. Yesterday (Saturday) we had a crew help clean about 80% of the church grounds. It was a big job because of tree damage and other debris. You may have noticed the debris pile along side the driveways. The second phase will require chain saws and muscle and may require almost a full day.

The Promise

I made a promise to all the people in our parish who need help that we will help them. I know we will fulfill this promise because of the good people in our parish who have already offered to help. If you can help in any specific way please mention it to Fr. Hans. We already have families that will open their homes to anyone in need, people who have offered to run errands and more, people who are already helping some of our widows, and people who have already worked to prepare the Church for today’s (Sunday) liturgy. This is what the Church does for its members and others.

Please stay in contact with each other. Please let me and others know if there is a pressing need so we can take care of it as speedily as possible. Better yet, if a need comes to your attention that you can meet, please go ahead and meet it.

Schedule This Week

The Paraklesis scheduled for Tuesday has been cancelled. Fr. Hans will be in Tampa for most of the day. The Divine Liturgy scheduled for Thursday morning at 9am will be held.

God bless you all, St. Peter’s and the people in our area who have been affected by this damaging storm. We pray for his grace and power to alleviate the suffering and give us His mercy and peace.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Hans