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Sandy


Recovering from


John Collins, pastor of Faith Lutheran, Lavallette, N.J., says there’s been a res- urrection in people’s interest in church since Superstorm Sandy. The church, blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, received substantial damage—even to sections that had just been built before Sandy struck.


Churches, members surprised by depth of damage, grace By Wendy Healy


A


s its pastor, John Collins, says, “You just don’t join Faith Lutheran Church, you become family.” So when Superstorm Sandy struck the Lavallette, N.J., church last Oct. 29, they pulled together. Its 400 members joined with another 200 volunteers to rip out walls and flooring, clean and remediate mold, pressure wash the exterior, and install everything new.


At the one-year anniversary of one of the most damaging storms to ever hit the Northeast, Faith—which reopened last Feb. 3—is stronger than ever. “This is the amazing thing,” Collins said. “We had 35 new members join us since Feb. 3.” He attributes this simply to: “We praised God through the storm. We kept telling our story and we let people know we were here.” Faith, which worshiped at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Tom’s River during the renovation, is home to Lutherans as well as disenfranchised mem-


Healy is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Brewster, N.Y., and author of Life is Too Short: Stories of Transformation and Renewal After 9/11.


16 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


bers of other denominations and nonbelievers. Faith is on the New Jersey shore where many families vacation. The devastated area was featured prominently in news photos after a roller coaster in nearby Sea- side Heights fell into the ocean. Members not only rebuilt Faith, which was flooded by 6 feet of water, but more than 60 percent of the members suffered damage at home.


Everything in the church needed to be redone. The electric repair bill alone was $25,000, Collins said, and mold remediation was another $15,000. Landscaping killed by sea- water had to be replaced. “The funny thing about a storm


is that it lingers. When you think it’s done, another thing pops up,” Col- lins said.


The more than $100,000 in


DAVID JOEL


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