the church geek

In the comments to my post “This is not our Hurricane Katrina” Joe, from City Team Ministries, has asked me to provide some sort of assessment as to where Cedar Rapids is in its flood recovery efforts. I’m perhaps not the best person to provide an assessment that is thorough and factually based, but per his request I will provide a few of my personal thoughts and observations:

1.) I find this personally most disturbing: It is quite possible to go day to day without really realizing that anything has happened here. That is to say that most of the city was not affected. If the majority of your life wasn’t based out of downtown, or if you didn’t live in the “Time Check” or “Chezk Village” areas, then you can pretty much get on with your life without facing the reality of what happened.

Still the enormity of it all is huge. According to the city, over 5,000 homes and 1,000 businesses parcels were affected. Most city services have moved to the struggling Westdale Mall (a place that used to be a ghost town, but is no longer….) The Public Library lost the majority of its book collection. Lots of non-profit organizations, including public services to the under-served, lost everything. The list goes on…

2.) Things are moving slowly. People’s lives are being held in the balance as the city tries to figure out what it’s priorities are and the best way to not only rebuild but to limit the chance of a similar scenario happening again. 500 year flood plain homes are getting building permits, while many permits for homes in the 100 year flood plain are being held up.

A walk through a few city streets a week ago revealed rebuilding activity among some home owners and other homeowners who appeared to be dazed and confused. Neighbors didn’t know where the renters or home owners were for houses that appeared to be abandoned. $28,800 (apparently the most that a home-owner can qualify for under FEMA) doesn’t seem like nearly enough to get some of these homes back into shape.

3.) While Cedar Rapids has been getting all sorts of attention, there are tons of little communities scattered up and down the various rivers in Iowa that are struggling to recover. It is my impression that places such as Palo and Oakville are not receiving the same sort of attention and resources that a big city like Cedar Rapids is able to attract.

4.) Lots of congregations were significantly affected, and yet the church city-wide has banded together in order to be the hands and feet of Christ in the city. It began even before the flood with a local group called “Serve the City” that was instrumental in providing the city with volunteers to help in preparation as well as early response efforts.

On the recovery end of things, Churches United has been very involved. And now all the big denominational response organizations are on the ground helping coordinate volunteers and supporting local congregations as they respond to recovery needs.

5.) The tricky thing, I think, and something that I’m slowly coming to terms with is that while people in local congregations have a desire to help out it is just not possible for everyone. Certainly, there is the issue of time, but there is also the reality that the work of gutting a home is physically demanding and not for everyone. Also, as recovery efforts go on, it is mostly going to demand folks who possess construction skills.

As a local pastor or as a local congregation, it takes keeping your eyes and ears open for just the right opportunity to materialize, but in general the reality is that we are simply going to have to rely on groups from outside the area to come here and help us out. And that’s OK, after all, we are all a part of the body of Christ.

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