Members of a Bloomsdale congregation have been forced to relocate their services as they deal with the aftermath of July 1 flooding that damaged much of their church building.
The Lebanon Baptist Church, 3007 Hwy. 61, suffered its worst flood damage since its construction in 1957, church member Aline Spence said Wednesday (July 8). The congregation traces its origins to 1833.
“Water and mud came up from the church basement,” said Spence, a congregation member since the early ‘50s. “It rose from the basement all the way to the sanctuary (at ground level). It was in and out of the sanctuary quickly, but it stayed in the basement until (July 3).”
She said church members have not finished assessing the damage, but the building will remain unusable until it is cleaned, disinfected and repaired.
“We don’t have the money to repair it and (flooding) is not covered under the church insurance,” said Spence, 76, who lives south of Festus. “We lost all the carpeting. Of course, downstairs, we lost all of the kitchen – the appliances and everything. The furnace and air conditioning. And, all the Sunday school rooms, all the materials pertaining to Sunday school. We also lost all of our office – computers, files, file cabinets, an overhead projector. We lost everything in our Fellowship Hall in the basement. They’re also assessing the church van and the lawn mowers for flood damage.”
Spence said she believes the church suffered comparable damage only once before since she joined the congregation.
“In 1973, we had some water that went to the ceiling of the basement because a dike broke,” she said. “This one was from flash flooding.”
She said the church, which has about 76 members, will continue to meet for services at a parsonage on higher ground at the Lebanon Baptist Church property.
“The parsonage had been used as a youth center,” she said. “We’re using it for services now.”
Pastor Francis Roberts said Thursday (July 9) that he doesn’t know when the congregation will be able to use the church building again.
“Everything in the basement has to come out,” he said. “We’ll have to take out the music booth in the sanctuary. The PA system has been taken out.”
Roberts, the church pastor for 26 years, said he lived in the parsonage at one time but now lives in Farmington.
He and six congregation members conducted a prayer meeting at the church July 1 shortly before the flash flooding occurred.
“We left about 8:15 p.m.,” Roberts said. “A neighbor said the flash flood hit between 9 and 11. If we’d still been in the building, we’d have had a hard time getting out. Our cars would have been underwater.”
A Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Team from the Jefferson Baptist Association showed up Thursday to help the congregation clean the church.
“We’re in the cleaning phase and we’re spraying to keep mold away,” team member Toby Tucker of First Baptist Church of Arnold said.
Spence said church members are seeking help from anyone willing to assist them.
“We’re asking for prayers and donations,” she said.
To donate or for more information, call Spence at 636-937-8606.