Volunteers gather to assist in clean-up of church in Charlotte County

Charlotte County and its communities were hit hard by hurricanes Helene and Milton, and Peace River Wesleyan Church was no exception.

WINK News reporter Paul Dolan visited the church on Saturday morning as the congregation prepared for a major clean-up effort, demonstrating that even devastating floods cannot shake their faith.

The clean-up kicked off at 9 a.m., but people showed up earlier, eager to help.

The community’s clean-up effort is intended to help the Peace River Wesleyan Church when it needs it most after the devastating flooding from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

About 80 volunteers, including some from Awaken Church and Awaken Outreach from North Port, were expected to show their support and help the cause.

Shanna Adkins is a member of the church who showed up Saturday morning, saying, “I’m just trying to pitch in and do my part for the church I go to, because I love it so much.”

So, volunteers got to work, and they were divided into three teams: the church, the home and the yard.

It didn’t matter if you were an expert or entry-level assistant; everyone made a difference.

Jim Hossy, the assistant pastor, said, “Having our churches come and people, and then plus local congregations that are coming out to help and support, it’s overwhelming, you know what’s happened, but it’s an awesome blessing of what God’s doing.”

Marred by flooding from Helene and Milton, Pastor Mark Benedict is forced to gut the church and his next-door home, tearing and cranking off the drywall piece by piece.

The hurricanes pushed more than three feet of water inside the church.

But other people’s homes stand between the church and the water, causing an issue.

Pastor Benedict said, “Look around the property. You can see everyone else’s stuff from over there just floated into our yard. So not only do we have our stuff, we have stuff across the street.”

While the yard team was cleaning out the back, the church team was shoveling out the inside, then piling and throwing it all out.

“We’re going to have to rebuild all of this in here, electro wiring…Pull up all the flooring in here, and we have to throw away all of our furniture except for a few mattresses, so it’s just been a long, tedious process,” Pastor Benedict said.

But with the patience of Job, their house of prayer will soon be open for service again.