After flood waters swept through the Northern region of West Virginia late July, churches and residents in the West Virginia Conference are continuing to clean-up the damage.
A total of eight counties – Marion, Monongalia, Harrison, Taylor, Tucker, Wetzel, Marshall, and Ohio counties were all operating under a Governor-declared state of emergency. Taylor and Tucker counties were late additions to this list.
The following churches and parsonages were the most affected:
Rev. Ruby Carson showing JF Lacaria damage to the Hundred Parsonage basement. (photo by Whitney Cherry)
Hundred UMC parsonage- basement flooding.
Elm Grove UMC – flooding in lower area of the church. Had to replace some flooring.
Pine Grove UMC – basement flooding.
Thomas Chapel UMC – About 2 inches of water through entire church building.
First UMC, Mannington – basement flooding.
Kennington UMC – basement flooding.
Donation hub in Mannington, W.Va. (photo by Whitney Cherry)
Supplies and work teams have poured into these areas; specifically to donation hubs at North Marion High School, Hundred High School, Littleton UMC, McMechen Elementary School, and several other local businesses that opened their doors to the community, like Nativibes Art Studio in Mannington, W.Va.
Several volunteers from surrounding towns have been working tirelessly to gather and organize supplies. One volunteer commented, “God just laid this on my heart to do. It was all Him. These people need help.”
Work in Hundred, W.Va. (photo by Whitney Cherry)
There are 40+ homes in the Hundred, W.Va. area that are still in great need of mucking out mud. There are also several footbridges requiring repair. We are looking for work teams of all skill levels to travel to Hundred and help with these things. All cleaning supplies for mucking will be provided, but teams must supply their own tools necessary for footbridge work.
If you are interested in volunteering your time and team, please contact
Dan Lowther, Disaster Response Coordinator, at 304-642-0897.
Pew inside Thomas Chapel UMC (photo by Whitney Cherry)
We are also still in need of the following:
Supplies for Hundred
- Dehumidifiers for Hundred residents
(send to Mike Linger at
House of the Carpenter
200 S Front St, Wheeling, WV 26003)
Supplies for New Vision Depot
- Cleaning supplies for flood buckets (find list at UMCOR.org)
- Push brooms
- Squeegees
- Square-point shovels
You may still donate monetarily to the 2017 flood relief efforts! If you wish to donate, please give through your local church. The church should then the money along with their church remittance form, earmarked for “WV Flood/Disaster Response #920.”
For a personal donation, make checks payable to Conference Treasurer and mail to PO Box 2469, Charleston, WV 25329. Gifts made outside the local church may be sent directly to the Conference Office making sure to note “WV Flood/Disaster Response #920” on your check.
Your prayers, work, donations and supplies are welcome and greatly appreciated!
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