Worried about her church, a Florida 3-year-old pays a visit post-Milton to make sure everything’s OK

Hurricane-damaged Westminster By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church in Daytona Beach Shores has been a blessing to its community and to other PC(USA) churches

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

(L-R) Westminster By-The-Sea Ruling Elder Ken Moorhouse and Office Manager Kristin Downer speak with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Associate for National Disaster Response the Rev. Jim Kirk and PDA Director the Rev. Edwin González-Castillo about damage to the church. (Photo by Rich Copley)

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Florida — Once Hurricane Milton had completed wreaking damage across her Daytona Beach neighborhood earlier this month, a three-year-old girl who attends Westminster By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church wanted to go check on her church. Her family brought her by to notice a fractured pillar and enough damage to the sanctuary that services have since been moved to a large fellowship space on the church campus. The girl was satisfied her church home would be OK.

Kristin Downer, the church’s office manager, said it’s “not fun, but we’re pretty good at organizing” volunteers to clean and make repairs to the church as well as the homes of church members and others in the community, work that’s been going on for more than two weeks. A roofer in the congregation was on the job a day following Milton, and an engineer who attends the church has lent his expertise as well.

Bret DeGayner and Steve Wise of Walker Roofing, which is owned by Westminster By-The-Sea Presbyterian Church member Jeff Walker, load up roofing materials following repairs to damage on the roof from Hurricane Milton. (Photo by Rich Copley)

“All things considered,” said Ashley Camp, the church’s director of Christian education, “we could navigate a lot on our own.”

Organized into teams, youth from the church helped church members and friends in need to clear their properties. “If someone asks for a crew, we figure it out,” Downer said.

In appreciation for the work one group of young people put in, a family donated to the church’s youth ministry. “I’ve never seen the church rally the way it has for this storm,” Camp said.

Downer keeps snacks at church to feed hungry people, and fuel and grocery cards are also on hand. Because she’s there during most of the day, Downer also serves as the liaison between the session and contractors performing repairs.

In addition to getting back into the sanctuary for worship as soon as it’s ready, church members and friends are racing to complete their work before a Nov. 9 wedding scheduled for the sanctuary. Following Sunday’s activity fair, a crew plans to stick around to rip out ruined carpet.

The sanctuary of Westminster By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida was damaged by flooding from Hurricane Milton. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Just two years after Hurricane Ian, some church members saw Milton dump up to three feet of water in their homes, said Ken Moorhouse, a session member who joined representatives of Central Florida Presbytery and Synod of South Atlantic to welcome and speak with the Rev. Edwin González-Castillo and the Rev. Jim Kirk of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, who are part of a solidarity visit of six states affected by Helene and Milton. Most of the congregation “is doing well,” Moorhouse said, and the church has sent work crews to anyone asking for them.

Dr. Cheryl Carson, Associate Executive Presbyter for Central Florida Presbytery, said that right after Milton, staff reached out to the 69 congregations and worshiping communities to learn about damage they’d suffered. Her own focus was on Brevard and Indian River counties. We got emails from First Presbyterian Church in Leesburg and one from Kristin,” Carson said.

Westminster By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church Director of Christian Education Ashley Camp, Central Florida Presbytery Associate Executive Presbyter Dr. Cheryl Carson, and Westminster Office Manager Kristen Downer speak with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Associate for National Disaster Response the Rev. Jim Kirk about damage to the church from Hurricane Milton. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Downer has used her prior experience filing claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help guide other PC(USA) churches in Florida through the process. “They were doing things they didn’t have to do,” Downer said. Downer’s success with FEMA forms — she’s yet to be turned down for a grant — has made her a go-to person for other similarly-situated churches.

Partners who nest inside the church, including the Arabic Evangelical Church of Daytona Beach and the Presbyterian Counseling Center, which has an office at the church, are of course eager for the work to be complete so they can resume their ministries.

Fencing stands around the entrance to the sanctuary of Westminster By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, because it was damaged by flooding from Hurricane Milton. (Photo by Rich Copley)

“Thank you all for being here,” Camp told the visitors on Friday. “I know it’s time away, and it has to be hard on your hearts as well. Reaching out is the beauty of our denomination.”

The back-to-back hurricanes “are more than one community can handle,” Kirk said. “It’s Important we do this together.”

Read previous reporting by Presbyterian News Service on the solidarity visits here and here.