Chapel by the Sea

Last month I went to a conference in Fort Myers, Florida, where we did a "case study" about Hurricane Charley that hit the Gulf Coast of Florida in 2004. It was hosted by a Presbyterian church called "Chapel by the Sea" on Sanibel Island, a sliver of beach that took the brunt of the storm's force.

People were ordered to evacuate the island a few days before Charley touched down. The hurricane knocked out most of the structures on the island - hotels, condos, stores - and nearly destroyed the church. The stained glass window was shattered and the chapel was knee-deep in sand. Leaders of the church coordinated with FEMA and the Red Cross, checked up on members of the community that were elderly or without family, and hosted the newly homeless in their auditorium when people were allowed back on the island.

They collected the pieces from the stained glass window, hired a local artist to make dolphin pendants from the colored glass, and sold the pieces online to raise money to rebuild the church. The island is coming back, being rebuilt, and the church is still feeding people who don't have homes or jobs.

Of course, after the conference, I got in a few days' tanning on the white sand beaches :)

Going to Pensacola, FL, next month for another "case study". Hopefully I'll get to go diving, too.