Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC)

The powdery smell (and taste) of drywall mud being sanded “baby skin” smooth; the whirring sound of the saw as finish boards are cut; the clipping sound of aluminum siding being snipped; the pounding of nails into siding or porch walls; shouts of measurements or questions or answers; and lots of unusually sore muscles—these are among the signs of progress as Church World Service completes its sixth week of work toward restoring 14 flood-damaged homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Rock Spring Members Lisa Wenger, Shirley Meehan, and Jim Meehan were among the 8 Central Atlantic Conference volunteers participating in the work May 17-22, 2010.

Highlights of the week included a ribbon–cutting ceremony at the home of Dan McSpadden and his wife, complete with a live polka band.  The McSpaddens have lived in their home for over 40 years and had feared they would never return after the terrible floods of two years ago.  But thanks to the more-than-400 volunteers who have worked on their home and others, they soon will return.  Neighbors’ houses across the street and for a few blocks approaching the river have been condemned, the owners compensated in some way as their homes have been declared in a 100-year (as opposed to 500-year for the McSpadden site) flood plain, and will become part of a new green space beyond a higher levee that is being built.

Rock Springers, along with the other CAC participants, the Leamon family from Maple Shade, New Jersey UCC and the Alden-Sawtelle family from Reading, PA, were assigned under the supervision of a knowledgeable site manager to the home of Faye and Maribelle Benesh.  The Benesh home (which they had occupied for over 50 years) had to be rebuilt after their sump pump failed during the flood, becoming infested with black mold.  Skilled volunteers enhanced or learned new skills while those of us who thought we could only sweep, vacuum, or paint, certainly developed additional skills.  Some of us sanded dry wall; others did finish work on the porch; others cut or put the final touches on aluminum siding; some did finish trim work, put up cabinets, and almost everyone painted.  Our group was pleased with its team work, managing to put a coat of primer on one full floor in a Friday morning, and then finish the walls in the afternoon so we could hang cabinets on Saturday morning as promised.  We were pleased when a leader told us he had never seen such a good paint job in such a short time.  It gave us all a great feeling to be proud of both the effort we had expended and the quality of the work completed.

We ate very well during the week.  Mr. and Mrs. Benesh stopped by every day to express their love and gratitude to the workers, and treated the group to a wonderful bratwurst lunch, complete with Maribelle’s famous pork and bean cake on Thursday of the work week.  A nice lunch also was available most days courtesy of the First Presbyterian Church, which we learned had flooded only due to a sewer back-up; this was fortunate for them, because although they did not have flood insurance some member o f the property board had put a rider on their insurance policy to cover sewer back-up, so they had some nice remodeling.  We also enjoyed a special dinner at St. Wenceslaus Catholic church, which brought many groups together to socialize and celebrate the ecumenical activity.  This church basement also had flooded, but most of the lovely ornate Czech sanctuary was spared and the church basement we understand was improved with the rebuilding effort.

We appreciated the efforts that many provided to minister to those of us who were providing work ministry.   In addition to the food we were provided, for example, the Hope UCC in Hiawatha, Iowa, allowed campers to plug in at their church free of charge (and provided nice fellowship at Sunday morning worship) and the Living Water United Methodist Church offered a small campground, complete with a trailer labeled “Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Response,” which contained showers and laundry facilities.  The campground had campsites with water and electric (with dump site nearby) for just $20 per week, which made the experience logistically great and financially very nice for campers.  They indicated this is part of their ministry to those ministering through working on homes.

Rock Springers noted that our fellow UCCers had more experience doing this sort of thing than we.  Barry Sawtelle, a lawyer, has worked with Habitat for Humanity since the 1990s and Rev. Jim Leamon, helpful wife Carol and talented son Jim have worked in the field many years as well, with Rev. Leamon having coordinated activities for the CAC for about eleven years.  Their experience showed!  Everyone seemed to agree that seeing the happy faces of the homeowners—and even their neighbors– makes work like this especially rewarding.  We also enjoyed meeting new people, making new friends, learning new skills, enhancing our muscle tone, and sharing new experiences.  Among key lessons were:  1) how important it is to help those who have been providing guidance for many weeks know how much we appreciate them and help them focus on what we need most from them; 2) the tremendous amount of organizational effort that goes into this type of ministry; and 3) the great need for this type of work.  For example, Rev. Leamon shared with us his understanding that fourteen churches are being destroyed by arson alone each month across the US (an improvement over the last decade when the number was 25 per month).  And of course we at Rock Spring are familiar with the great work of this type to which members Robin and John Overholt have contributed in Biloxi after Katrina.  We hope that the inspiring experience we have shared will encourage us and others to follow the Overholt’s excellent example to learn about, share, and do much more of this type of work.  We know that the experiences we have shared, the people we have met, and the joy we have seen on the faces of the people who appreciate our help this week will stay with us long after our tired muscles and related minor aches and pains subside. An article about this week’s effort is available at  http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/News2?_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=9433.  Feel free to contact one of us or check the UCC web site for other opportunities like this at: http://www.ucc.org/oghs/national.