2203.  The  number of days the members of  St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana were out of their sanctuary due to devastating damage from not one, but two hurricanes in 2020.  Hurricane Laura landed August 27, 2020 as the strongest Louisiana storm since 1856.  Then on October 9, adding to the recovery misery, hurricane Delta created more damage and flooding to the same Southwest Louisiana area.  If you’ve ever been in Southwest Louisiana in late summer without power and air conditioning, with the incessant sound of chain saws and eerie evening silence (except for the mosquitoes buzzing your ears while you’re trying to sleep) you understand post hurricane trauma. Then, add the fears and uncertainty of an ongoing  world-wide pandemic and you have dark days in Southwest Louisiana.

30.  The number of months working through insurance challenges, finding the right architect, the journey and balance of local church leadership determining the best path for the congregation and the future of St. Andrew.  Was the sanctuary, which had already been damaged during hurricane Rita in 2005, still structurally sound?  Should the large A-frame building be torn down and a smaller worship area built or carved out of remaining buildings? Should the sanctuary be restored as it was, or re-imagined to fit the current congregation’s needs? So many questions and so many opinions.

3.  Three knocks on the door of the fully restored St Andrew sanctuary on August 30, 2026, 2203 days after Laura’s vicious arrival.  Three knocks from co-Presbyters Leigh Rachal and Jeff Sims.  The knocks answered by St. Andrew clerk Anne Dye symbolically offering the keys of the sanctuary to the Presbytery of South Louisiana.  The doors opening to a standing room only sanctuary filled with the excitement and reverence of the building rededication.  The service filled with music, memories and the hope for the future that was so long in coming.  Yet in the grief, destruction, healing and several reconciliations, the congregation never forgot their mission to love one another, love their neighbors and look to the future.

Sloshing through the wet sanctuary in those last August 2020 days with the organ sitting in water, windows broken, mold growing, lighting rusting and the insurance company not responding, morale was low. The two other church buildings had also sustained damage, although not as dramatic as that of the sanctuary. Years of choir music destroyed, sofas and wall art soaked beyond repair.  Walls blown out and the kitchen freezers disgusting.

Pastor Nanette Cagney, was inundated with requests for help from the community while simultaneously fielding calls from the many Presbyterian and other faith based disaster assistance groups ready to send help. Disaster buckets filled with helpful items like heavy work gloves, rope, cleaning supplies and more came in one door of the barely functional Fellowship Hall before they went out another door to families in need. The Presbytery of South Louisiana and churches in other parts of the state sent much needed gift cards for people to find home repair tools, and food. A grass roots non-denominational group used the church to quickly push supplies to those in need, by-passing the sometimes difficult paperwork required by official government help groups. While it’s important to have official documentation, these requirements often delayed desperate people from getting even basic help like water. It’s difficult to have all the paperwork needed when your home has been destroyed.

Months passed and the church began to seek answers regarding the sanctuary.  A Building Committee was formed. Meetings were held.  Opinions were sought. And finally a plan was formulated with the help of architect Jeff Kudla who understood the delicate nature of navigating varying congregation opinions.  Building Committee Chair Annette Harlow recalls a poignant moment when she despaired the huge, soaring (but damaged) ceiling  being painted rather than the wood being stained as it was in the original sanctuary.  “Annette,” said Jeff, “you must have more respect for old wood.  Think of the joy and rebirth you have given that ceiling!”   And this is a metaphor for the entire project.

Mary Lou and Jerry Burke first joined St. Andrew in 1964, before the sanctuary was built. In those days everyone met in Fellowship Hall as the congregation has done on so many occasions. They worshipped, sang in the choir, their children were baptized and they attended church events large and small.  Although they left Lake Charles in 1974,  early retirement brought them back and there was never a question regarding what church they would attend.  “We came home,” said Mary Lou. “We never found the love we experienced in our Lake Charles church, and now we are truly home again in our beautiful new sanctuary.”

Months after the storms and after handling the logistics of worshipping during Covid and the wrangling of disaster supplies and mission groups coming to the area, Pastor Cagney moved out of Louisiana.  The church stepped up, the session and its committees did their jobs and plans moved forward. As happens, a young man sitting in the congregation and leading the choir felt called to do more. Thomas Sexton Logan began Commissioned Pastor classes and slowly began filling appropriate leadership rolls leading up to his commissioning.  He now serves as St. Andrew’s Commissioned Pastor.

Pastor Logan says “The most touching aspect of reopening the sanctuary has been seeing the emotions in our longtime members.  St. Andrew knows that a church is more than a building, but you can tell that being back in our special sacred space has meant the world to the congregation.”

“Now that we’re back, my hope for our congregation is that it gets back to basics.  We have a strong history of mission and outreach in our community, especially with our neighbor, McNeese State University. I believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit, this tiny but mighty group of people can make a big impact and spread the light of Christ.”

St. Andrew is home.  It’s a beautiful home.  And now the work begins anew.

Amen.