Church members go to work on flood damage - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Church members go to work on flood damage

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July 12, 2005

Acree-Jack Gay is usually worshipping from these pews, not vacuuming around them.

"We had probably close to 40 folks here yesterday morning," he said.

That's because up to eight inches of water flooded the First Baptist Church of Acree late Monday. The church may have to replace all their pews and the carpet in the sanctuary.

"In '94 or '98, it never did get like this."

Or any other time in the 30 years Gay's been a church member. Or in the 40 years that Winnie Sherrod has walked down the church sidewalk to get to Sunday School. The same sidewalk she was spraying with a pressure washer Tuesday afternoon.

"You could just see the water coming in around the doors, you know, and even seeping in under the sides of the building," Sherrod said.

So as she washed away the mud outside, church members and even volunteers off the street worked inside to pull out the water that was pushing them together.

"Acree church has got a lot of good folks," Gay said. "I mean, they stick together."

From some of the longest-serving hands in the congregation to the hands that hold the church's future.

"They all keep standing," Gay said about the working youth group members. "Let the old feller rest some."

Even though, Jack won't really rest until the place he comes to worship is ready for Sunday service.

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